Holidays
by Kaytori
Summary: Dave goes home for the holidays. Unfortunately, Prime Merlinians, it seems, do not get vacations. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Holidays**

**Summary: Dave goes home for the holidays. Unfortunately, Prime Merlinians, it seems, do not get vacations.**

**Disclaimer****:** **All Publicly Recognizable Characters, Settings, Ideas, etc. are the Property of Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Productions. The Original Characters and Plot are the Property of the Author. The Author is in no way Associated with the Owners, Creators, or Producers of Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Productions. No Copyright Infringement is intended.**

**Chapter I - Home for the Holidays**

**Dec 21, 2010, 6:30 pm - Blake Residence**

Dave let out a yawn, not because it was late but because he hadn't been getting much sleep due to exams. The physics nerd had just finished the last one a few hours ago and Balthazar had asked him to come over for dinner and help decorate for the Christmas holidays. With the master sorcerer, the words 'ask' and 'order' are interchangeable. At least Balthazar had also invited Becky. The young couple hadn't had much time together of late due to their course work.

All four were currently placing ornaments on the spruce tree, which was already decked out in lights and tinsel.

"Balthazar," said Dave pulling an 'ornament' from the box closest to him.

"Yes?"

"Why is there a bullet tied to a string?"

"I was shot a few decades ago. The surgeon pulled that thing out of me, said it just missed my heart and I was lucky to be alive. This was around Christmas so he tied a string around it and gave it to me as an ornament. Said it should bring me luck."

Dave blinked.

"Oooookay, and you kept it why?"

Balthazar shrugged. "Seemed rude to toss it. He was a nice guy—weird, but nice." The master sorcerer paused as he finished hanging an ornament before clarifying. "The surgeon, not the shooter."

Veronica chuckled as she placed a Santa ornament on the tree. "Sinterklaas hasn't changed much over the years," she said looking at the ornament critically. "Though I can't say I'm fond of the red suit."

"Blame Coca Cola," chimed Balthazar. "Santa perceived as a fat man with a red suit was invented by them at the turn of the century."

"What was he before that?" asked Becky.

"An old man with warm clothes, sometimes with a beard. The weight varied," answered the ancient sorcerer.

"At least the tradition of the tree, holly and lights hasn't changed," said Veronica.

"You guys brought in trees and holly when you were… younger?" Asked Becky diplomatically.

"Those traditions were taken from the pagans," said Veronica. "They are older then Christianity. Holly was considered to be a miraculous plant, because while other plants wither and become barren, the holly's berries ripen. So pieces were cut off and bought inside to keep the spirit of the plant alive. Same with the tree. The tree was a reminder that despite the shorter days and near constant darkness, there was still life and promise of brighter, warmer days to come."

"Wow, I guess back before electricity, that would have been a big deal," said Becky.

Veronica nodded.

The group continued to decorate the tree, joking and swapping stories as they went. Becky turned when she felt a breeze against her face and saw Dave a few feet away, waving at her to step aside. He had his camera out. She smiled and stepped aside. The two master sorcerers, who were far too busy looking at each other to pay much attention to the twenty-year-olds, didn't notice.

Dave quickly took a picture and hid the camera before Balthazar could notice, and the group finished decorating the tree.

"Hey you guys need any help setting up lights or other decorations?" asked Dave as Becky placed the last ornament on the tree.

"Dave, if we don't leave soon you'll miss your flight."

"I don't mind. I can catch a later one or, you know, none at all."

"Dave, you can't use Hendel (1) to take you to Washington," chided Balthazar with a chuckle, referring to the giant steel eagle the sorcerers often used as transport. "You'd be gone for days. People would notice he's missing, and you can't supply him with enough magic for him to make the return trip on his own."

Dave sighed. He really didn't want to go home for the holidays. He never really wanted to go 'home', period.

Balthazar sighed as he looked over his apprentice, he had been cheerful a few seconds ago. He turned to his wife. "Veronica, why don't you make some hot chocolate while I get the presents?"

Veronica nodded. "Does anyone want marshmallows?" she asked as she walked towards the kitchen.

"I'll have two please," answered Dave.

"Same," added Becky.

"None," shouted Balthazar as he reached the closet.

"You want to talk about it?" asked Becky once the elders were out of ear shot.

"About what?"

"About your dad," said Becky, taking his hand.

"Not really, but thanks."

The DJ gave his hand a reassuring squeeze just as Balthazar entered with an armful of presents.

"I'm guessing the nicely wrapped ones with bows were done by Veronica?" said Dave as Balthazar started placing the gifts under the tree.

The master sorcerer shot his apprentice a glare but didn't reply. Veronica entered a few minutes later with four mugs of hot chocolate.

Once everyone but Balthazar was comfortably seated, the master sorcerer grabbed a couple of presents from the tree.

"Becky, this is for you." He handed her a small square box neatly wrapped in green paper with a red bow. "And this is yours," Balthazar continued, handing Dave a poorly wrapped rectangular box with red candy cane wrapping paper. Dave tried to suppress a chuckle and _mostly_ succeeded. He glanced up in time to see Balthazar sigh before taking a seat.

Dave reached for his backpack and withdrew two gifts. He handed one to Becky, who in turn handed it to Veronica, and tossed the other to Balthazar, who deftly caught it as he looked over the rectangular missive with a furrowed brow.

"A leather satchel?" asked Dave.

"Yeah, hope you don't mind. I've got a few things from the store in there."

Dave frowned and opened the bag. "Is that a horse's skull?"

"Unicorn. I broke the horn off during that fight with Horvath. It should be in there somewhere."

"So this bag opens up to a pocket dimension?" asked Dave, a huge grin on his face. This thing was going to make life so much easier.

"Yeah, I picked it up a couple centuries ago."

"This is awesome," exclaimed Dave thinking of all the uses such a bag could have. "Thanks, Balthazar."

The master sorcerer made a quiet grunting sound of acknowledgement and turned to look at Becky. The DJ smiled and reread the card that had come with her gift. _'Thanks for the save back in battery park and pleasant dreams. B & V'_

"Thanks guys, but what is this thing exactly?" asked Becky as she held up a small blue crystal orb.

"It's a called a dreamball," explained Veronica. "Merlin made them for us when we were younger. Place it under your pillow and it will give you pleasant dreams. It will also help you remember them."

"Wow, thanks," said Becky as she stared at her gift, a broad smile on her face.

Dave looked at his master. He knew the older man had nightmares. Why hadn't he made a dreamball for himself? At any rate, now was not the time to ask.

Balthazar meanwhile raised an eyebrow at the note attached to his own gift. _'Merry Christmas Balthazar, and remember, no shortcuts. From Dave and Becky'_

Both master sorcerer and sorceress frowned at the box labeled 'iRobot Roomba.' Balthazar flipped the box in his hands, read the back, and promptly started chuckling. He turned to his wife who was looking at him questioningly. "It's a small machine that will vacuum the apartment for us."

Veronica cocked her head slightly, not entirely sure what was so funny, but decided it would be a useful gift.

She began to unwrap her own and smiled at the silver locket she found. She opened it to see a picture of herself and Balthazar. She looked at the younger couple. "Thank you both this is a wonderful gift.."

oo0oo

"Come on, Dave," said Balthazar an hour later. "We gotta go."

All four piled into the Phantom to head to the airport to see Dave off. The drive was uneventful and Dave spent it talking to Becky, asking her about her plans and her family. Becky sensed that Dave wanted to avoid thinking about his own family, so she asked him no questions.

Once they arrived at the airport, Balthazar dropped the other three off at the entrance while he went to find a parking place.

Veronica was fascinated and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people. Dave led the way to the express check-in machine and explained to Veronica how it worked as he used it. While they were waiting in line to check in his baggage, Dave went on to tell her how airplanes worked as Veronica was having trouble accepting that those huge machines could stay airborne without magic.

He found the lesson a much needed distraction and was still talking after he finished with check-in and only stopped when Balthazar returned from parking. The elder sorcerer found the group waiting just outside security.

"You sure you have everything?" Balthazar asked by way of greeting.

"If I don't, it's a little late, don't you think?"

"I can drive really fast," assured the master sorcerer with a smile.

"I'm good."

"I'm sure you'll have a pleasant holiday, Dave," said Veronica wrapping the physics nerd in a hug.

Dave turned to Balthazar. The older man smiled and gave his apprentice a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "You'll be fine, and it'll be over in a couple of weeks. Call if anything magical happens."

He wrapped his arm around Veronica's shoulder and guided her towards the exit but stopped a few feet away, waiting for Becky to finish her goodbye.

In Dave's mind, it was the third best kiss the two had ever shared. The first had been the one on the Chrysler building (2), the second the one right after Morgana's defeat. It was just so hard to top a first kiss and a 'we've just saved the world and lived' kiss.

Reluctantly, Becky eventually pulled away and told Dave to call her once he was home. Dave gave her a forced smile and another hug, quietly savoring her presence one more time. He was really going to miss her.

Dave sat on the plane looking out the window as they neared the capital. He wasn't as nervous as usual, but all the same he wasn't very comfortable. Dave still hadn't gotten over his fear of flying on planes, though he could handle giant steel eagles that defied all known laws of physics with ease.

He shook his head, clearing it. The flight had been short and uneventful, much to Dave's chagrin. He had been hoping for some engine trouble followed by an emergency landing that would take hours to rectify and get everyone to their destinations.

Though, knowing his luck, that would happen on the return trip.

Ah the joys of being him.

"David!" called Daniel Stutler, giving his son a curt wave to draw his attention.

Dave plastered a smile to his face as he approached his father. The man smiled down at his son and awkwardly wrapped an arm around the young man.

"Glad you're home. Do we need to go to the carousel?"

"No, I packed light."

"Good. How about dinner? We could go to Ray's. We went there on your last visit."

"Yeah, I remember, sounds good," murmured Dave he really just wanted to go to bed, but he was a bit hungry. And he did like Ray's it was one of the few non-upscale restaurants his father was willing to go to. More of a dinner really then a restaurant. Not Daniel Stutler's usual kind of place but it was Dave's, his father must want him in a good mood.

The ride to the dinner was silent with Daniel Stutler continually glancing at his son. He occasionally opened his mouth, but no sound came out and he soon closed it again. His brow furrowed slightly when he saw the ostentatious dragon ring on his son's finger. He remembered that ring. The day of the incident, Dave had insisted the ring was proof of his story.

"Isn't that the ring from the Arcana Cabana incident?"

Dave held up his hand and looked at the glittering dragon. "Yeah."

"Why are you wearing it?"

'_Because my magic is stronger with it.' _"Because I like it, even if it is a little big."

"Hmmm," murmured the elder Stutler. The remainder of the ride was quiet. They soon reached the dinner which was fairly busy, but they still managed to find a booth to themselves. It was only after the waitress gave them their menus that he finally spoke again.

"Dave, I think it's time you tell me why you hate me."

Dave looked at his father. eyebrow raised. It wasn't like his father to be so direct. Normally, the man was more subtle. He would beat around the bush, poke and prod. He rarely went for the direct approach.

"I don't hate you, Dad."

"Then why have we only spoken a handful of times in the last year? I had to twist your arm to speak to me when I visited you in New York, and that was the first time I'd seen you since last Christmas."

"Been busy, you know, summer school and all that."

Daniel Stutler stared coolly at his son, his face granite. "Why are you mad at me?"

"This is why you wanted to eat out?" asked Dave, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. "I'm not familiar with the area, don't know the best place to grab a cab. Only place I could go is yours. I don't have a key, so I can't exactly run off, and I'm not likely to make a scene in a restaurant."

"I want to know why you hate me. Every time I try to get you to tell me, you dance around the conversation."

"Take the hint."

"David."

"You never visited mom in the hospital."

"We've been over this. She was no longer my wife. I paid for her treatment, which was costly. I had to work."

"But I didn't. I went to visit her everyday, and in case you don't remember, I didn't have any friends. So, I sat in that room and watched her die, slowly, painfully and no one was there to help me deal with that."

Daniel blinked. "I… didn't…"

"Yeah, I figured. Let's just drop it."

"Dave—"

Dave held up a hand. "Not now, Dad." ordered the younger Stutler firmly, it was Christmas he didn't want to talk about something that was sure to lead to... unpleasant matters.

They waited in silence until a waitress came to take their orders. Dave ordered a burger and his father a steak.

A few moments after the waitress left, Daniel tried to start up another conversation. "So, how did you do in your English class?"

"Got an 'A' minus."

"That tutor of yours worked out well. You two close?"

Dave raised an eyebrow. "He's a friend, why?"

"You serious about your girlfriend?"

"Very," said Dave somewhat dreamily, "but why are you asking about Balthazar?"

"Is that his name?"

"Dad." Dave warned wanting his father to get to the point, what was the man driving at? He couldn't possibly complain about a tutor.

Daniel Stutler forced himself to look his son in the eye. This was going to get awkward. "Okay, honestly after so many years of you not having a date, much less a girlfriend, I was starting to think you were gay. Then, when you started having your tutor at your lab and sleeping at his place…"

Dave stared wide-eyed at his father. "No, Dad, just…no. Oh god, stop talking."

The elder Stutler looked down at his food. "Sorry, it's just that I've never seen you with your girlfriend or any girl, and you almost never let people into your lab, just that Bennet guy and myself. All of a sudden you've got a tutor coming over, bringing over meals… and you're sleeping at his place."

"He's married."

Daniel looked up at his son with a sigh, "Yes, well that would have made it worse."

"Oh, god." croaked Dave as he palmed his face as if the solution used by ostriches would solve his problem

"Again, sorry," continued Daniel, he took a bite of his food and chewed slowly before continuing. "But you know it'd be okay if you were gay, though I would have had problems if you were dating this Balthazar guy. You said the man used to be a professor, so he must be considerably older."

"You have no idea…" trailed Dave, looking up at his father from between his fingers. He removed his hand from his face and sighed. "Can we change the subject, please?" he begged still trying to recover from the shock of his father's thoughts.

"Okay… Things are going well between me and Carol. She'll be joining us for Christmas dinner if that's alright with you."

Dave nodded. He still couldn't believe Balthazar had impersonated him for what was supposed to have been Dave and Carol's first meeting. Still, it wasn't like Dave could have attended, been comatose and all. "Sure. It'd be nice to see her again," he answered before letting out a yawn.

"Tired?"

"A little, haven't been sleeping too well thanks to exams."

"So you've been studying hard?"

Dave nodded his grades weren't a favorite topic but after their earlier conversation it was a godsend. "Yeah, I have scholarships, remember?"

"Yes I do, and my wallet is very, very appreciative," chuckled Daniel. "How go the plans for a master's?"

"Working on a scholarship. I should get enough to pay for tuition, even enough to cover some other expenses like rent, but not everything."

Daniel smiled. "That's great son, very impressive."

"If I get it."

His father scoffed. "I've seen your work Dave. You'll get it. I meant to ask, how's your laptop holding up? You've had it for four years. Would a new one help? You've certainly earned it."

"It would help, thanks," answered Dave just as the food came.

Daniel waited for the waitress to leave before continuing. "I know I'm not the best dad, Dave, but I do try."

"I know, just…"

"Well, maybe we'll be able to work on that this Christmas," said Daniel hopefully.

"Is that why you wanted me to come as soon as my exams were over? Usually I just come over during Christmas Eve and Christmas."

"Yes."

Dave took another bite of his burger as he pondered his father's question. "Is it Carol's idea, to try and patch things up?"

Daniel raised a brow at his son's suspicions. "Why do you say that?"

"Cause you started this attempt when you started dating her. I've gotten more phone calls from you in the past two months than the past two years."

"…Yes, but Dave, that doesn't mean I don't want to try and improve things."

"Right."

"Dave—"

The son held up a hand to silence his father. "Dad, it's fine, really. I don't care about why you've started trying to patch things up between us so long as you're not doing it to impress your girlfriend."

"No, Dave, that's not why. She just talked to me and made me think, that's all."

Dave eyed his father critically. Unlike the budding physicist, the man could lie, very, very well. Still, this was his dad—he wouldn't lie about something like this.

Daniel cough awkwardly under his son's scrutiny, when did Dave learn to stare at people like that? "So, speaking of girlfriends," he said, "how's yours?"

oo0oo

Dave held the ball of fire in his hand, wondering how big he dared make the flame. He sighed. Part of him wanted to tell his father about the magic. It would be easy to prove, and he just didn't want to hide it, but he wasn't sure of his father's reaction. Dave knew the man would keep the secret—that wasn't a problem, but the man might try to forbid Dave from continuing his studies. Not that it would work. Dave truly wanted to learn magic and fight evil.

Dave shook his head. He had actually used the words 'fight evil'. He sounded like a Saturday morning cartoon, or a comic book.

The apprentice dismissed the flame and leaned back against the headboard of his bed and considered the current problem. There was no lab, no safe and secure place to practice his art, and if the apprentice failed to find a means, Balthazar was going to kill him with training upon his return. If he didn't have to bother trying to hide things… Dave sighed again.

He could never tell his dad about any of this.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and looked around his room, spotting his old baseball on top of his old dresser. He levitated it towards him and tossed it in the air. Just as it reached its highest point, the apprentice launched a temporal displacement spell towards it, slowing down time around it. He continued to stare at it, determined to make its journey to the floor last a good hour.

If he couldn't practice his more destructive magic, he would just have to focus on mastering everything else.

oo0oo

**Dec 22, 2010, 10:00 am - Stutler Residence in Washington D.C**

Dave awoke fairly late, still tired from exams the day before and all the magic training the previous evening. He made his way downstairs, in a stupor not yet fully awake. He would still be in bed if his stomach would allow him.

His father was seated at the table reading the paper, an empty bowl and a spoon off to his right.

"Morning, son," greeted Daniel with some cheer.

Dave mumbled a 'morning' and got out the milk and cereal. A few minutes later, he was feeling more awake and his stomach had decided to stop complaining about its mistreatment. Dave looked at his bowl. While practicing his magic, he had thought long and hard about telling his dad everything, and he believed he had found a way to gauge what his father's reaction would be without having to actually tell him anything, and now seemed as good a time as any.

"Hey, Dad?" said Dave as he put down his spoon.

"Yes?"

"I've been re-thinking the whole 'joining the military thing'."

Daniel's eye's hardened. "Unless you're talking about doing research for the military and staying far, far away from battle, we are not having this discussion."

"I thought you said I could do whatever I want for a living."

"Dave, you want to be a mechanic? That's fine. Heck, you want to flip burgers the rest of your life? Go ahead. I've only pushed you for excellent grades so that if you ever change your mind and want to do something else, that option will be available to you. I think I may have pushed too hard, but… remember that talk we had about taxes when you said you liked your car mechanics class so much that you told me you wanted to be a mechanic?"

Dave smiled—it was actually one of his happiest memories of his dad.

_Daniel Stutler looked down at his son and sighed._

"_A mechanic? Really?"_

"_I really enjoy it. Isn't that what matters?"_

"_Yes and no. Let me show you something. Wait here."_

_Daniel went to his office and returned with a sheet of paper. He held it out to his son and pointed at a rather large number._

"_See this number, son?"_

"_Yes."_

"_It's a big one, right?"_

"_Yes."_

"_That's what I pay in taxes, and it's a lot more then a mechanic makes in a year. I know you, son—you don't have champagne tastes, but this isn't even beer money. And there's the fact that you may want a family. You won't be able to provide them with every opportunity if you don't have the money for it and trust me, son, there are few things more soul crushing than the idea that you may not be able to provide for your family. You've never tasted 'desperate'. You don't want to. You want to be a mechanic? Alright. But you will maintain a high GPA. If you change your mind, your grades will give you that option. But son, with your brains you could probably invent an engine that runs on water. A lot of people compromise between passion and money. Sometimes it's a happy one, sometimes not. Admittedly, I fall into the 'not' category and I don't want that for you, but surely you can find a job that you enjoy that also pays well?" _

Dave smiled as the memory faded. "Look, Dad, I know the military doesn't pay the best—"

"I'm not worried about money, haven't I made that clear in the past? You can do whatever you want with your life, so long as it isn't dangerous. End of discussion."

Dave leaned back in his chair and sighed. He had been hoping to segway from military life to sorcery—after all, both were dangerous and it had been the danger that had concerned Dave with regards to his father's reaction. He had wanted to test the waters, and test them he had.

Telling his dad about being a sorcerer and fighting evil was a very, very bad idea. Daniel Stutler would never accept it.

(1)Hendel was the name given to the steel eagle in another SA fic whose title and author I do not remember. But I liked the name so I used it.

(2) This is a reference to the Jr. novelization in which Becky and Dave kissed when they were at the top of the Chrysler building.


	2. Chapter 2

**Holidays**

**Summary: Dave goes home for the holidays. Unfortunately, Prime Merlinians, it seems, do not get vacations.**

**Disclaimer****:** **All Publicly Recognizable Characters, Settings, Ideas, etc. are the Property of Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Productions. The Original Characters and Plot are the Property of the Author. The Author is in no way Associated with the Owners, Creators, or Producers of Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Productions. No Copyright Infringement is intended.**

**Author's Note READ: This chap won't make much sense unless you read my other fic 'The Veil' if you don't want too here's what you need to know Balthazar has a few contacts in the Underground the Goblin King is one of them (Yes people Jareth is in this chapter and ONLY this chapter. For those of you who don't know who he is, all you need to know is he's the Goblin King) Dave and Balthazar fought a group of sorcerer who had a changling named Tara as a slave Dave was captured by said sorcerers and Tara was one of his guards. Once said sorcerers were beaten Jareth took Tara in as a servant.**

**Chapter II - Goblin Gifts**

**Dec 23, 2010, 10:00 am - Goblin King's study, The Goblin Kingdom**

Jareth sat at his desk, wondering when the assassin wielding the iron-tipped dagger would try to kill him. Things between the Goblin and the Sluagh kingdom were not going well, but then they never were. Sighing the Goblin king attempted to focus on his work he needed to finish work so he could make time for his in-laws tomorrow which, fortunately, wasn't as horrific a prospect for him as it was most husbands. Actually, it wasn't horrific at all—Irene was a bit shallow, but she truly loved her family, and Roger was amiable and loved how happy Jareth made his daughter. As for Toby, well, the boy lived in the Underground.

The main problem with the assassin was not that he was distracting the king from his work but that Jareth was expecting a visit from his wife soon.

"You behind the curtain, could you try and kill me now? I'm beginning to lose patience. My wife is coming down the hall and will be here shortly."

A shadow darted out from the curtain towards the Goblin King's back. Jareth was still seated in his chair, back to the window—then he wasn't.

"As I said, my wife will soon be here," Jareth drawled from behind the assassin.

Not wanting to have to deal with a corpse, as they had a tendency to kill the romantic mood, Jareth waved his hand and transported the would-be assassin to an oubliette.

He had just sat down when he heard a knock on the door. Jareth raised an eyebrow at the oddity. Sarah must be with someone—normally, she wouldn't bother to knock.

"Enter."

Sarah opened the door and walked in with one of the serving girls, Tara, a mute changeling with gravity defying hair and green cat eyes.

Jareth looked over his wife, caressing her with his eyes before turning his attention to the serving girl.

"I take it there is something you desire?" He glanced at his wife's face. Sarah was a kind and gentle soul, and even more generous then he was. She took a personal interest in all the servants—Tara in particular, considering the odd way she had come to them. He was not surprised—the young woman had suffered much.

The girl stepped forward and held a piece of folded paper across the desk.

Jareth smiled warmly and took the offering. The girl was terrified of him, not that he blamed her. She had watched him literally turn a man inside out. It had been a slow, agonizing death and in retrospect he should have made sure no one was around to witness the event.

_Sire,_

_As you know, the people are celebrating Christmas in the Aboveworld. I have made a gift for David Stutler as well as Balthazar and Veronica Blake. I would appreciate it if you could see to it that my gifts reach them._

_Your servant,_

_Tara_

"Your handwriting has greatly improved," said Jareth. The girl's previous owners had never even bothered to teach the girl to read. As soon as Jareth had learned this fact, he had arranged for the girl to be taught. It just would not do to have anyone in his kingdom, much less his employ, who did not have at least a basic grasp of reading, moronic goblins aside—some goblins simply could not be taught to read. Still, everyone in his kingdom managed to have at the very least a level equal to that of an Aboveworld first grader. Tara, however, was a quick study and the note was devoid of any spelling mistakes. He suspected his wife had had a hand in that.

Jareth leaned back in his chair before holding out a hand and summoning a crystal.

"Dave is in Washington, visiting his father." At least that's who Jareth assumed the taller greyer man was. He rotated the crystal and saw Veronica and Balthazar enjoying an intimate meal. Balthazar frowned and turned to look at Jareth through the crystal. Jareth smiled, knowing Blake couldn't in fact see him but merely sense him watching. Blake was powerful—the sorcerer had learned to tell when magical means were been used to observe him. Even Jareth could not watch the man without him knowing. Frankly, it was annoying. Jareth didn't like the fact that there were beings out there whose magic rivaled his own in any way. He kept his kingdom safe because he was one of the most powerful magic users in existence. The Goblin King tossed the crystal in the air where it vanished and he turned to Tara. "We will go tonight. I'll summon you when it is time."

Tara's brow furrowed and she pulled out her notebook and pen. She wrote quickly and held out the open pages.

"Yes, child, you are coming. You may give your friends their gifts personally. It will be a bit early for the holiday, but I will be busy tomorrow and the day after, and we don't want your gifts to be late, do we?"

Tara's skin paled and she clenched her notebook tightly. Jareth could understand why. She had helped a group of sorcerers who had tried to kill David Stutler. She was understandably nervous about facing the three Merlinians again.

"They will not hold your past against you, child. They arranged for you to come here after all. Now, if there is nothing else, I have work to complete."

Tara bowed and darted out the door.

Sarah turned to her husband. "Thank you, Jareth. That was kind of you."

He waved the praise away. "It is nothing. It will be good to see Balthazar again," he added after a brief pause.

"Not planning on causing the man trouble again, are you? You remember what happened last time."

"I was just planning on having a… bit… of…" but what Jareth was hoping to 'have' was lost as his wife had walked around the table to his side and had started nuzzling his neck. The king's skin hummed as the action effectively rendered him incapable of uttering a coherent sound.

oo0oo

"Beloved?" questioned Veronica as her husband continued to stare into space.

Balthazar blinked and turned to his wife, his frown vanishing at the site of her.

"What's wrong?"

Balthazar opened his mouth to tell her 'nothing' but quickly changed his mind—she would be able to tell he was lying, and that might spoil the mood.

"The Goblin King scryed us. It was only for a few moments."

"Is he the sort who would visit friends during Christmas?" asked Veronica thinking that maybe a visit might be the reason.

"No," snorted Balthazar. "He doesn't even visit the in-laws, he has them come to him. Not that they mind," he added after a pause. Balthazar had met the Williams family once about fifteen years ago when he had attended Jareth's wedding. He had been the one to show them around at Jareth's request. The Goblin King thought it best if that job went to a human from the Aboveworld, and aside from Sarah, Balthazar had been the only one.

He wondered if Jareth planned to cause mischief out of boredom. Balthazar doubted it. After all, all Balthazar would have to do would be to give a number of goblins noise makers. He had done it before when the Goblin King had decided to become annoying. The sorcerer and king had ended up with a small feud. It had been relatively harmless, nothing that would actually endanger either party, just annoying pranks, in retrospect. It was funny at the time, however… Well, he was grateful the Labyrinth had come under attack at the time. The two had put aside their 'petty squabble', as Queen Sarah had put it, and worked together.

Thus far, they had managed to avoid taking it up again.

Jareth was the only one on the planet capable of making Balthazar regress back to the mentality of a pranking teenager. The Goblin King was well suited to his subjects. Both king and goblins loved to cause trouble and could be dangerous if provoked.

A few hours later, the couple were sitting in the living room watching _A Christmas Carol_. Balthazar wasn't sure which one, he had long ago lost track of just how many cinematic versions there were of this particular tale, but it was black and white.

Suddenly, the Goblin King appeared just off to the side of the television, at the edge of Balthazar's vision.

Veronica started at the intrusion and stood, smiling in greeting. Balthazar frowned at the reaction, not understanding it but long used to the glittery king, and merely returned his gaze to the television.

"It's called a 'door'," he informed the king, not taking his eyes off the T.V. "You stand outside and knock on it when you wish to gain entrance to someone's home and enter only when they answer."

"Peasants, perhaps," replied Jareth with a wave.

It was this movement that drew Balthazar's attention to the waif of a girl standing next to the Goblin King.

He snapped his head in her direction. "Tara?" he questioned, getting up to properly greet the young woman. Now at least he understood his wife's warm smile a moment ago. Veronica had been the one to tend Tara's wounds once they had reached the safety of the apartment when they rescued Dave from Bartholomew. As a result, she had formed an attachment to the girl.

"Please, have a seat," he told her pleasantly as he waved to a nearby chair. Tara looked at the floor and walked over to the piece of furniture, gently placing her bag beside it.

Jareth coughed.

Balthazar gestured to another chair. Once Jareth had seated himself, Balthazar grabbed the remote and muted the TV before turning back to Tara.

"Jareth treating you well?"

Tara nodded vigorously and Balthazar seated himself on the sofa once more next to Veronica.

"To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit, Goblin King?" Asked Veronica.

Jareth waved at Tara. "Tara, it seems, is grateful to both of you for helping her during that incident with the Veil. She wanted me to send you Christmas presents, but I thought it would be more fun to drop by and allow her to give you your gifts personally."

Once again, he waved at Tara. The girl pushed her now long hair behind her ear and reached into the bag. She pulled out a package wrapped in brown paper tied with a white string and held it out to the couple.

Veronica, being closer, reached and took the offering. As soon as it was in the older woman's hands, Tara shrank back.

Veronica placed the package on her lap. Slowly, she unknotted the string and unwrapped the gift to reveal a folded cloth. Balthazar examined a corner and saw the fragment of a pattern. Using his magic, he levitated and unfolded the cloth so he could see properly.

It was a tapestry, a fairly small one five by six feet, and it was… "Beautiful," breathed Veronica.

It was a story—it was _their _story. In the top left corner was Balthazar, Veronica and Horvath sitting beneath a tree, children. Next to it was an image of Horvath and Balthazar fighting, as they had been when Balthazar had learned of Horvath's betrayal, just before Horvath had rushed off to the keep. In the top right hand corner was an image of Veronica disappearing into the Grimhold as Balthazar held the prison. Tara had captured the master sorcerer's expression of agony perfectly.

Beneath the three images was Balthazar fighting an Egyptian sorcerer, then him fighting Abigail Williams. Next to it was an image of his battle with Sun Lok, then him trapping Horvath in the Grimhold. Below those images were still more—Dave and Balthazar standing over (well next to, in Dave's case) the urn. Then it showed Balthazar coming on the giant steel eagle to rescue Dave from Horvath at the station. Another image depicted the fight Dave had had with Morgana, Balthazar and Veronica behind him as he blasted the evil woman with a series of plasma bolts, and finally Dave and Becky flying off on the giant eagle.

Each of the images flowed into the other with no clear border between them—the closest thing to a border was between the image of Balthazar and Dave standing next to the urn. The edge of Balthazar's back appeared to be flowing into an open urn the lid forming part of the eagle's wing and rails coming out of the main body of the urn.

The best part was the image of Balthazar and Veronica standing in the middle, surrounded by the other images, holding hands and looking lovingly into each other's eyes.

Balthazar eventually turned from the gift to look at Tara. Her hands and nails were those of a dishwasher or cleaner, not a weaver. He turned to Jareth, about to ask the Goblin King if he was seriously wasting the girl's talents as a servant when he saw that the monarch was gawking at the tapestry.

"Tara," said the king his face now a mask of dry humour. "I do hope you're not fond of cleaning. As soon as we return to the Goblin Kingdom, I will make arrangements for you to be Madame Lauren's apprentice. She is the most skilled weaver in the land."

"How did you make this in two months?" asked Balthazar. A feat like this should have taken _years_.

Tara scribbled something in her notebook and held it out.

"Magic," read Balthazar sighing at the vague explanation.

"Perhaps I can solve the mystery," said Jareth. He held out his hand and a crystal appeared. He walked towards Tara.

"Hold this and think about making the tapestry."

Tara nodded and took the offering, holding it in both hands. She closed her eyes while the other three gathered around and watched.

Inside the crystal, they saw Tara seated at a loom, her hands moving through the threads almost too fast for the sorcerers to see.

The girl was a machine.

Balthazar couldn't keep track of her movements. Her fingers moved with speed and precision as she wove the images onto the tapestry.

Balthazar knew it was not uncommon for the magic in Otherworld to give changeling children enhanced strength, speed or hand-eye coordination. The last two Tara had in droves.

"Well, that explains it," said Balthazar mildly. He turned to Tara. "You're very talented. The gift is beautiful."

"Yes, thank you, Tara. We shall treasure it," said Veronica.

Tara looked at the floor, her face obscured by her hair. Balthazar felt sorry for the girl, sorry that kind treatment put her so… off balance. Her previous 'owners' had cut off her tongue when she had become too talkative. She was used to been told what to do. Being treated with kindness was still new to her. It made her unsure of where she stood, and as a result, more shy.

It was hard to believe this girl had force-fed his apprentice drugged food.

"Tara, how do you know our story so well?" asked Balthazar.

Tara started writing in her notebook, then handed it to Balthazar.

"When I was with Bartholomew, I would look at his Incantus on occasion. I couldn't read it, but I saw pictures, and your story is well known in the Underground," he read before blinking a few times, surprised the girl had borrowed the Incantus of her owners. Chances were they wouldn't have liked that. He smiled. "Would you two like something to eat? We've got a few holiday treats."

"I think we can spare some time," replied Jareth pleasantly.

oo0oo

Dave's hands were intertwined behind his head as he leaned against the headboard of his bed, focusing on levitating the book on magic he had borrowed from Balthazar. Carefully he turned the page, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"You seem miserable considering the festivities," drawled a cool velvety voice to his left.

Dave jumped, ignoring the book as it hit the side of his head and tumbled to the bed. He stood, a plasma bolt forming between his hands as he aimed the projectile at the voice's owner.

A strangled yelp pierced the room and Dave saw the Goblin King looking down at him, eyebrow raised. Tara standing behind him.

"Tara? That you?" He noticed she was eyeing the plasma in his hands fearfully and dissipated the bolt. "Sorry you surprised me," he continued staring at Tara apologetically before turning to the otherworldly king.

"What are you doing here?"

"Tara wishes to give you something."

Tara hesitated briefly then stepped out from behind her sovereign, looking down at the floor as she held out a package, again wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string, the words 'To: Dave' written in black ink.

"Thanks… I didn't get you anything," he added guiltily, rubbing the back of his neck and looking at the wall just off to the side.

Tara smiled and motioned for Dave to open the package.

Dave sat down on his bed and undid the string. His brows knitted as he stared down at the gift—leather, bits and pieces of different colour leather stitched together. There was something familiar about it. He took hold with both hands and held out the gift, revealing that it was a jacket.

"Clever girl…" muttered Jareth.

Dave lowered his gift and looked at the Goblin King.

"That jacket, boy, is dragonhide. It will be far more effective against a gun then any Kevlar vest. It is expensive. Tara often goes to the village to pick up odds and ends. Evidently, she took the scraps from the tailor and stitched that jacket for you." He turned to the girl. "Did you take the scraps from the garbage, or do you have an arrangement with the tailor?"

Tara took out her notebook and wrote quickly.

"I cleaned his place once a week and did his laundry," he read.

Dave stared down at his gift. Dragon leather was expensive and made for excellent light weight armour. Hell, it made for excellent armour, period. No wonder it had looked familiar— Balthazar's favourite coat was made out of the stuff.

"Thank you," breathed Dave, having trouble believing he had been given such a magnanimous gift. He looked up at Tara. "This will probably save my life someday." He stood and tried it on. It was a little bulky, but all in all a good fit. He smiled.

"I can't believe you did this, thanks. Wish I had something to give you." He frowned in thought, but he had no idea what the woman could want.

Had Dave kept his head up, he would have seen Jareth stiffen at the word 'wish'. The Goblin King made a mental note to have a word with Balthazar about talking to the apprentice in regards to the power of words.

"I think I might have something," continued Dave. "It's not much, but…" He dove into his closet and rifled through it, tossing clothes aside as he searched for his quarry.

Tara held her hands out, fingers stretched as she waved trying to tell him she needed no gift, but Dave was paying no mind. Neither noticed when the Goblin King disappeared and reappeared a few moments later, would his absence unnoticed by his subject and the young sorcerer.

"Ah ha!" exclaimed Dave suddenly as he got off his knees and darted over to Tara. "I don't know if you have cameras in Otherworld, but this is a Polaroid camera."

Dave spent the next ten minutes showing Tara how the camera worked. He also gave her a small bag with a few extra film rolls and batteries.

"It's not much…" Dave trailed off, looking up to observe her reaction.

She was grinning so widely, he thought her face might split in two.

Jareth coughed and the two friends turned to him. Smiling, he held out a wooden box to Dave.

"A gift." Dave took the offering, examining it carefully. It wasn't special-looking in the slightest, just a ten by five inch plain wooden box. "It is a means of communication for you and Tara. Simply place a letter, small package and whatnot in the box, close the lid and the items will appear in the matching box, which will be waiting in Tara's room upon our return."

Dave looked up at the Goblin King, his mouth hanging open.

Tara, for her part, stared at the man in disbelief. She knew her sovereign could be generous, but this far exceeded her expectations.

"What, no 'thank you'?" inquired Jareth pleasantly with a slightly raised brow.

"Give me a minute," said Dave hoping the king wouldn't take the request the wrong way. The words 'thank you' were trying to find their way to his mouth but his brain was having to much trouble processing the wonderful gift to direct them. "That's… thank you."

Jareth smiled, apparently pleased with the reaction. Dave turned to Tara. "I'll send you a few more rolls of film when I get the chance."

"We should be going," said Jareth. He placed a hand on Tara's shoulder and the two disappeared.

Dave turned to the mirror, admiring the jacket. Aesthetically speaking, it was pretty good. It was made out of different shades of brown from different random pieces of leather. On the back was a bird made out of patches of a dull blue leather. It appeared to be a falcon, judging by the wings and beak. It's wings were spread as if it were about to take off from the black-coloured branch it's talons rested on. The bird and branch were set against a backdrop of red in a black circle.

His smile broadened. He could tell it would keep him warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It would protect him from flame, most bullets and swords, not to mention claws and teeth—he could use the protection for all manner of creatures he could find himself up against. He still felt bad about merely giving Tara a used Polaroid camera after she had given such a magnanimous gift considering all the hours she must have spent working for the tailor, then all the hours required to actually make the thing.

Dave frowned. Dragonhide was not only expensive because it was rare but also because it was hard to work with. One needed special equipment. His frown deepened as he remembered Jareth's surprise at the gift. The Goblin King hadn't helped her find the needed equipment, so who had?

He shook his head. Tara lived in the underground, in the Labyrinth. There was no shortage of strange powerful beings in that place. He needn't worry about who was helping her sew. Besides, he could always aske Tara in a letter now that he had the means to communicate with her.

He had never had a penpal before.

"David!" shouted his father from downstairs. "Come here!"

Dave sighed and headed for the stairs.

It wasn't until Dave saw his father's expression that he realised he hadn't taken off his new jacket.

"It's a Christmas present from a friend. She made it herself."

"She seems… eclectic," commented Daniel Stutler as tactfully as he could.

"She lives near a tailor, got scraps off of him," said Dave in response to the unspoken question.

"A tailor who works with leather a great deal, it seems. We're going to meet Carol for dinner. She had some unexpected time freed up. I suppose you want to wear your gift."

"Yeah, but if it's a fancy restaurant…"

Daniel Stutler waved his hand. "If you wish to wear it, you can."

Dave could tell his father was hoping he wouldn't, but he really didn't care. The jacket was warm and comfortable.

"What is that on the back, a bird?" asked Daniel as the two exited the house.

"It's a merlin," answered Dave with a smile.

oo0oo

Carol, Dave decided, was nice. She asked Dave about his courses and seemed genuinely interested in his life. He wondered if she was only taking an interest in him as a way to get closer to his dad, but he didn't get that vibe from her. After all, she was the one who was pushing the reconciliation between the father and son.

He asked her several questions as well—where she was from; where she went to school; how she ended up in Washington, Oklahoma, Cameron University, and her first job.

"Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?" asked Daniel as he and Dave drove back to the house.

"Never said it would be."

"You like her, then?"

Dave nodded, then remembered his father kept his eyes on the road and gave a verbal response. "Yeah, she's nice."

"Good. I've started saving up for a ring."

Dave smiled. "That's great, Dad."

"Glad you think so."

An awkward silence fell over the pair, and Dave occupied himself with looking out the window. As soon as they got home, Dave headed to his room to practice his magic.

His father watched his retreating back and sighed. This reconciliation attempt might take longer then a couple of weeks.

**AN okay here's the deal normally I write the time and date of my next update here but… well I have class Saturday mornings and can't be all that precise. Normally I'd update before noon, but well class is at 8.30 in the morning then there's an hour of travel time so I may or may not feel like getting up early to post. So I can't be that precise this time I may update Friday evening or Sat afternoon/evening. There abouts. **

**So to reiterate. Have class, will update between Friday evening and Saturday evening, next week.**

**Please review. It means a lot to me.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Holidays**

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><p><strong><span>Summary<span>: Dave goes home for the holidays. Unfortunately, Prime Merlinians, it seems, do not get vacations.**

**Disclaimer****:** **All Publicly Recognizable Characters, Settings, Ideas, etc. are the Property of Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Productions. The Original Characters and Plot are the Property of the Author. The Author is in no way Associated with the Owners, Creators, or Producers of Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Productions. No Copyright Infringement is intended.**

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><p><strong>Chapter III This Cannot End Well…<strong>

**Dec 24, 2010, 8:00 am - Stutler Residence**

Dave descended the stairs at around 7:30pm, things had ended awkwardly last night and Dave decided that if his dad was going to try to extend the olive branch, he would put some effort into making peace as well. Balthazar had taught a good pancake recipe when the apprentice had slept over and had woken up in time to see the master sorcerer preparing breakfast. Dave had offered to help, thinking the ability to cook Becky a meal might be a good idea.

First Dave check to make sure his father had all the needed ingredients which the elder Stutler did. By the time Daniel Stutler came into the kitchen and Dave had already made a couple.

"Smells great. Since when do you cook?" asked Daniel as he grabbed a plate and used a fork to place one of the made pancakes on it.

'_Since Balthazar started nagging me on eating too much takeout and pizza,' _thought Dave. The master sorcerer had in fact proved to be relentless, and very, very annoying. Dave had been invited over for dinner and encouraged to help with the cooking on a few occasions, despite Balthazar constant efforts however Dave only knew a couple of recipes. The physics nerd shook his head returning to the current conversation. "Since I got tired of pizza and takeout," said Dave as he sat down and began to eat.

Dave leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh of contentment. He had just polished off his third pancake and felt ready for some magic training, schedule permitting. He looked at his father who was sitting across from him reading the paper. "Any plans for today?" asked the apprentice.

"Just staying home," replied the elder Stutler glancing out the window. The weather looked miserable. No, he wouldn't be going outside.

The day was surprisingly fun. Dave and his father sat and watched old movies, but there was a tension in the air. Both parties were still unsure of where they stood with each other, and the matter of Emily Stutler had not been fully addressed. Fear of making things worse and ruining the peace they had made so far prevented the two from even attempting to address the source of the tension. So, by silent and mutual agreement, it was pointedly ignored by the father and son.

oo0oo

**Dec 25, 2010, 10:45 am - Stutler Residence**

Dave shivered as he dragged the trash bag of wrapping paper to the bin by the curb. It had been a good Christmas morning. His father had liked his gift, and Dave had gotten a new external one point five terabyte hard drive.

"Nice neighbourhood," drawled an unfamiliar voice.

Dave turned and saw a man with a black wool coat and cap. The apprentice's eyes drifted to the man's hands, a silver ring with a blue stone lay on his ring index finger on the outside of his glove.

Dave pointed in the man's general direction and shook his hand. "Let me guess… Morganian?"

"Yep."

Dave sighed and brought his hands to his side and his dragon ring began to glow. "Why haven't you attacked me yet?"

"I'm distracting you so my brother can stab you."

Dave spun around to see another man with brown hair. He didn't have time to observe more before he noticed the man's arm move forward and looked down in to see the flash of a blade. Using his magic, Dave turned the knife into confetti, his mind having flashed back to Balthazar turning a collapsing fire escape into confetti when it had been about to fall onto innocent bystanders in China Town.

Dave's next reaction was to grab the now distracted man's wrist and pivot, throwing his attacker into his other opponent.

Summoning plasma bolts into each hand, Dave blasted his attackers, having learned from Balthazar not to let up once the advantage was yours. Dave turned the surrounding snow to water and, using his arms to direct the liquid, enveloped his opponents and willed the molecules to slow, turning the water to ice.

'… _Okay, now what do I do with them?' _thought Dave as he looked around. No one appeared to be looking out their window. The apprentice glanced back at his prisoners and saw the first man's ring begin to glow. The ice itself started to glow orange and crack. Dave threw up his arms and cast a shield just as the ice blew.

When Dave brought down his arms, his opponents were nowhere in sight. He looked around, but aside from the shards of ice, didn't see anything. He stayed still for a few more moments. listening. His attackers could be invisible for all he knew.

Or they could have gone. _'Why would they try to stab me? Why not just blast me from a distance?'_

Dave sighed. This was not how he wanted to spend Christmas morning. At this rate, his dad was going to find out, and he had just started getting along with the man.

oo0oo

Dave felt a sharp pain in his abdomen as soon as he closed the door to the house. Letting out a slight hiss, he placed his hand over the source then held it up to reveal warm sticky blood. Apparently, he had been too slow in transforming the blade. Quickly casting a spell to numb the pain Dave made his way to the washroom. Removing his shirt, he saw that the blade hadn't penetrated very far—just a couple of centimetres, a fairly shallow wound. He should be able to patch it up quickly. Getting out the first aid kit, Dave sat on the edge of the tub, cast a healing spell and bandaged the wound, grateful Balthazar had signed him up for some first aid courses.

He sighed. The muscles had been damaged, but the knife hadn't reached his internal organs. Movement would be difficult for the next hour or so unless he used the pain relief spell, but movement would also aggravate his injuries. Dave sighed again and used magic to levitate the blood off his shirt and into the toilet. He put away the first aid kit, made his way to his room and grabbed his cell from the desk to call his master.

oo0oo

**Dec 25, 2010, 11:00 am - Blake Residence**

Balthazar smiled, so far he had enjoyed Christmas, for the first time in many many years the fact that he was alone wasn't being rubbed in his face. Veronica was pleased with her gifts, and Balthazar was wearing the sweater she had knitted for him. How she had made the thing behind his back he didn't know, but he wasn't complaining.

"One more gift, Beloved."

Balthazar turned to his wife, accepting the box she placed in his hands. It was wrapped in fancy red and gold paper topped with a red and gold bow. Seeing the smile on her face, he decided to open it slowly. It was the last gift of their first Christmas as man and wife he wanted to savour the moment.

Inside the box were two plastic sticks, next to them was a flattened box saying that the contents were the most reliable of pregnancy test. The sticks had plus signs.

Balthazar froze and stared gapping at the pieces of plastic. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Veronica, her face tinged with worry.

A smile spread across his face as he leaned for to alleviate her concerns. Combing his hands through her hair he drew her in for a passionate kiss.

"I take it you're pleased?" she asked once he moved from her mouth to her neck. She leaned into his hand which was caressing her cheek, enjoying the feel of his rough calloused hands. Soft was not a word one would use to describe her husband. Gentle, kind, strong, those words suited him and a new word she had learned a few weeks ago, _git.__. _Even before the betrayal he had always been self-loathing, never seeing his own worth. This vice was even more pronounced all these years later. He was still self-sacrificing, it used to drive her mad and still did, but it remained one of the reasons she loved him. And his touch, while rough and prickly where his stubble from a beard that never grew rubbed against her, was always gentle, and never failed to make her feel safe and treasured.

"You couldn't have given me a better gift." He told her as she continued to melt into his touch. He took a moment to revel in the fact that this sweet, wonderful women had chosen him. "No wonder you didn't drink the wine last night." He paused, his face still no more then a hair's distance from hers. Had she had any alcohol recently? Nope. Despite the holidays, she had not. Not surprising, since they wanted children. They hadn't really been trying, but one-thousand two-hundred and sixty years of separation generally meant one didn't need to try.

"How long?"

"A little over three weeks. I've known for three days."

"Knew you were up to something," he whispered, nibbling her ear lobe.

Nether heard the phone until the second ring and even then it took a few moments for both to register the sound and realise what it meant, they had been too absorbed in each other. Balthazar had to suppress a small fit of rage as the phone continued to ring. "Ignore it," said Balthazar as Veronica stiffened.

The couple let it ring, and all was well once more, for three seconds.

"It must be important," said Veronica.

"It had better be," Balthazar hissed. Heaven help the caller if it wasn't.

"Blake residence," he snapped as by way of greeting.

"Bad timing?"

"Yes, Dave," replied Balthazar his voice tinged with annoyance. If the kid had just called to wish them a happy Christmas… Well, he wouldn't be angry. His annoyance was quickly fading. In fact, it evaporated completely when Balthazar realized that Dave would have known better then to call a second time.

"Sorry," said the apprentice, "but…"

Veronica watched as her husband's brow began to furrow and his hand tighten around the phone. "I'll be there in an hour," announced Balthazar a few minutes later. He hung up the phone and turned to his wife. "It's important."

"Is Dave in danger?"

Balthazar hesitated. "Possibly. He was attacked. He's fine, but they got away."

Veronica hesitated a moment, debating whether or not she should go with him, but she didn't relish the though of an argument with the man about her condition. Not today, at least, though she knew it was inevitable, and frankly the unborn child was doing horrible things to her stomach.

"Then you should go," she told him gently.

Balthazar let out the breath he had been holding. He had seen the conflict in her eyes and really didn't want her to come. All it would take would be one blow to the abdomen… He covered the distance between them in a few short strides, enveloped her in his arm and brought his lips to hers, kissing her deeply before drawing away.

"I'll be back soon."

oo0oo

Outside, two men stood by a hedge just half a block from the Stutler's home.

"How much longer?" asked the younger of the two.

"We'll give the kid fifteen minutes to call his master, then we'll attack."

"I still don't see why we can't just kill the kid."

"Because then he'd end up in the morgue where there are fewer people. Also, we'd then have to deal with police. Bullets move too quickly for my taste. We want the boy in a populated area of the hospital. Try to remember that."

"I still say we can handle Balthazar."

"That's what our parents thought," replied the elder in a patronizing tone. "And our grandfather, and our great grandfather. In case you forgot, Blake killed them all. We'll put his apprentice in the hospital. In close quarters with so many mundanes to worry about, we'll have the advantage."

The younger brother sighed and crossed his arms in an attempt to preserve body heat.

The two sorceres stood outside in the cold for several more minutes before the elder spoke again "Okay, it's been fifteen, let's go."

oo0oo

Daniel Stutler frowned when he heard the doorbell. _'Who in the world could that be? Carol? She's not due till evening.'_

Sighing, he got up from his comfortable seat by the fire and made his way to the door.

"Can I help you?" he asked the grinning men.

"Yes, we were wondering, can Dave come out to play?"

Daniel stiffened. The man's voice dripped slime. "You have five seconds to vacate my property. I'm calling the cops."

"I don't think so," said the older one. Daniel's eyes widened as he felt himself fly through the air. Pain seared through his back and knew no more.

Dave had just flipped his cell phone shut when the doorbell rang. He wondered who it could be but shrugged it off, figuring it was just Carol.

So when he heard the crash, he ran downstairs at top speed. "Dad!" yelled Dave when he reached the bottom of the stairwell.

He turned the corner to the front hallway and crashed into the older Morganian from earlier. Dave's mind barely had time to register the face in front of him when he felt a penetrating, radiating pain in his chest. He looked down and saw the hilt of a knife. He stumbled back a few steps and fell.

Dave gasped for breath as the men standing above him continued to talk.

"What about the dad?"

"What about him?"

"Do we kill him?"

"Who do you think is going to call 911 if we do that? Let's go, he'll wake up soon."

Dave absorbed this information through the haze of pain. They weren't going to kill him? Why? Why did they want him at the hospital? He tried to move, knowing what was wrong—he had a punctured lung. He needed to sit up or he would drown in his own blood. Oh God, this hurt. Dave couldn't even raise his hand. _Damn._ He needed his dad to wake up. Dave craned his neck and saw the top of his father's head.

He focused on the molecules in the air, willing the hydrogen and oxygen to come together above his father's head. Once enough water had gathered the apprentice let it fall.

Daniel sputtered as his eyes shot open. He saw his son and darted towards him.

"Dave!" he cried out his voice thick with panick as he staired down at his bleeding child "Dave, you'll be okay, I swear." Daniel took off his sweater and gently applied pressure to the wound around the knife. Dave tried to tell his father that he needed to be elevated, but the only thing to come out of his mouth was blood and a pathetic gargling sound.

"I'm going to call 911," said Daniel, clutching his son's hand. "I'll be right back."

And he was gone, leaving Dave alone to stare at the ceiling.

oo0oo

When Dave had first become his apprentice, Balthazar had given him an amulet that would enable the master sorcerer to find wherever he was, and right now that amulet wasn't pointing him where Balthazar knew the Stutler house resided. When the hospital came into view, Balthazar visibly paled. Quickly as he could, Balthazar parked the car and ran inside. Using the amulet, he was able to find his way to where his apprentice lay. His complexion became more ashen when he realized his student was in surgery.

"I don't know what you're talking about! How could Dave have been stabbed a week ago? He never mentioned it! He would have told me. You've made a mistake!"

Balthazar froze. He knew that voice—it belonged to Dave's father. The master sorcerer turned a corner and saw Daniel Stutler in a bloody t-shirt and sweat pants. The elder Stutler was talking to—well, yelling—at a petite blonde woman in blue scrubs.

"Sir, calm down or the orderlies will have to escort you out."

"Escort me out? My son was stabbed! Once in our home right in front of me, and you're telling me he was also stabbed last week and didn't tell me?"

"It was a very shallow wound, the first one. As for the second, the surgery is going well so far, just another half hour or so."

Balthazar backed up so he was out of their line of sight and tried to collect his thoughts. Dave was alive. He was in surgery. Surgery was going well, and Dave would be out soon.

The master sorcerer brought his hand to the bridge of his nose as he tried to reign in his emotions. Why had they attacked again so soon after running away? Why hadn't they finished the job?

Balthazar was so lost in thought that he almost didn't see the attack coming, but managed to raise his arm to his face just in time to block the plasma bolt. He hadn't had time to raise a shield and thanked the fates for the dragonhide coat he had stumbled across three centuries ago.

He glanced around the hall. A few nurses, orderlies and doctors were staring at him.

"Sir... did you... bring firecrackers into the hospital?" asked a doctor as he eyed Balthazar warily

"Ummm…" began Balthazar before a crackling sound alerted him to another bolt. This time, he managed to put up a shield before the blow could land. The spectators cried out at the burst of light and started running. Balthazar paid them little heed and frowned when he realized it had come from a different angle. Either his opponent was really fast and invisible or there was more then one.

Still maintaining his shield, he looked up at the nearest camera and quickly willed water to manifest inside its circuitry.

Balthazr turned to a large beefy man in scrubs. "Get everyone to safety!" shouted Balthazar before focusing on slowing down time—the faster he dealt with this the better. If he hurried, Dave's surgery wouldn't be interrupted.

He dropped his shield and ran to where the most recent blast had been launched from only to have to side step to avoid another.

"Hiding?" the master sorcerer goaded. He needed these guys out in the open. Slowing down time would help him end this quicker, but it was draining.

"So, you're the infamous Balthazar Blake," drawled a voice. Balthazar frowned. Something about that voice was familiar. He couldn't pinpoint the source, either—the speaker was using a spell to project.

"Who are you?" asked Balthazar. _'Where are you?' _ Balthazar was starting to worry. He didn't have long before the spell he was using to slow time drained him, but his opponents were also using the spell, so the same should be true for them as well. He thanked the fates he had decided against teleportation to get to D.C. He would need the energy to fight, especially if one of his opponents was slowing down time for himself as well as the other, which would mean that he was in trouble.

"My name is Alex Pierce," said a voice to Balthazar's left.

The master sorcerer turned to see a dark-haired man with brown eyes. "Pierce… You're Adam Pierce's son?" Balthazar suppressed a groan. This family had proven to be annoying in the past—never a particularly strong threat, but annoying none the less. That was, until now.

"I'm one of them."

Balthazar fell forward as a plasma bolt hit him from behind. He changed his fall into a roll, turned and blasted. He then brought up another shield to block the concussion wave Alex sent his way.

"Careful, we're in a hospital!" shouted Balthazar. He really didn't want any of the equipment damaged. To make matters worse, the place still hadn't cleared out. There was an elderly woman and a nurse still trying to get to the stairwell, and Dave's father had rounded the corner, gaping at the fast-moving blurs before him.

Balthazar looked around. He was in a hospital—there should be sharp pointy things around somewhere. He smiled. There were three syringes a few feet away that had fallen to the floor in the confusion. Balthazar levitated and launched them towards the Pierce sibling who hadn't introduced himself. A couple of them landed in his right cheek and the third in the left eye.

"Ahhhhh!"

"Ethan!" shouted Alex Pierce as Balthazar turned to face him.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Balthazar sent a plasma bolt to the man's face. The master sorcerer smiled when he realized that Alex was taking time to fall to the floor. Ethan had been slowing down time for both him and his brother so that Alex would have a huge advantage, but once Ethan had been dealt with, Alex hadn't stood a chance.

Balthazar ended his time spell and darted to Ethan who was still conscious. He removed a ring on the man's right hand having seen it glowing before he sent the syringes flying. Once Ethan was no longer a viable threat, he went to check on Alex.

The elder Pierce brother's face was baldly burned and Balthazar doubted those eyes would ever see again. He took the man's focus, another ring, and pocketed it.

He turned to see Daniel Stutler and the woman the man had been speaking to staring at him. The nurse and elderly woman who had just reached the entrance to the stairwell were also now staring at him.

"Sorry about the disturbance," said Balthazar calmly. "These two tend to go a little nuts with the firecrackers." He stood to leave deciding to let the mundanes tell themselves whatever lie they wanted. He raised his hands and cast a spell, first on the nurse and elderly woman, and their eyes glazed over. It was a simple memory spell—they would forget his face, forget even what he was wearing. He did the same to Daniel Stutler and the woman the elder Stuler was with before bolting down the hallway. He really needed to get away.

oo0oo

Dave smiled as a warm tingling sensation enveloped him. He opened his eyes to see Balthazar. The master sorcerer's hand was hovering over Dave's chest where the apprentice had been stabbed. Dave's hospital gown had been partially removed to expose his wound.

"Balthazar?"

"Hey, almost done. Just another half hour and you'll be healed."

"What are you wearing? You look…"

"Normal?"

"ish, sorta... well not really," replied Dave. The master sorcerer snorted, he was wearing a light blue shirt, no pocket watch with charm adorned chain, no gloves or red arm warmers. Most of his decoy rings were gone as was his hat and coat. His hair, however, was still a bird's nest, and he just seemed off. He wasn't very comfortable in his attire and, as always, had the air of someone who just didn't belong, he also looked like he needed a shave.

Dave took a deep breath, appreciating the fact that the act not longer hurt. It was then he noticed his dad sitting in a chair on his left. The man's head was bowed and he wasn't moving.

"Dad asleep?"

"Yeah, I cast a spell on him when I came in. You'll have to wake him and leave as soon as I'm done healing you, Dave. We don't want the doctors wondering about your miraculous recovery."

"Dad?"

"Doesn't know, but he will after I'm done healing you. The police were leaving when I came in. What did you tell them?"

"Exactly what happened, sorta. I told them the first stab wound was from an accident in the kitchen. A knife fell off the counter and I'm a clutz. They didn't believe me."

Balthazar suppressed a smile. "The second?" he prompted.

"I told them I heard a crash and ran downstairs. I turned the corner and had a knife in my chest."

"Did they believe you?"

"Yes, that's what happened, so I didn't have to lie. They told me they had caught the ones responsible. They were in the hospital earlier, setting off firecrackers?"

Balthazar sighed and told his apprentice about the fight with the Pierce brothers. "I took their focus. Since your dad was there, he was able to ID them. They're probably still in this hospital somewhere, only this time they're patients."

"Do we need to worry about them?"

"They don't have their focuses. They can't use magic, and if they try to tell the truth, they'll be locked up in a mental institution instead of prison."

"So what happened after the fight?"

"I did a little memory modification on witnesses, the ones who were still around, so they wouldn't recognize me, then I bolted. I didn't want to answer questions. I went to buy some clothes since most people ran off at the first sign of trouble. I wasn't able to modify the memory of everyone who saw me. I thought a change of clothes would help. I waited a bit longer before trying to find you. I claimed to be your uncle to get your room number, but cops were standing outside your door talking to your dad. I waited until they left, cast a sleep spell on your dad and started healing you. Punctured lungs are easy to fix once the blood has been removed and the worst damage repaired by professionals. You'll be fine soon."

"Will it scar?"

"Yes, but it will be faint. I also brought some of your clothes. You can change into them when we're done."

"You'll stay and help me explain things to my dad, right?"

"Of course. Your ring, where is it?"

"At home, on my dresser. I took it off when I was patching up my stab wound."

Balthazar nodded, for once grateful that Dave hadn't been wearing the ring. Getting it back from the police would have been difficult.

"So," started Dave after a few moments of silence. "How was your Christmas?"

Balthazar smiled, Dave stared at his master. This was no mischievous grin. This wasn't even a grin, or a smirk or anything, this was a genuine smile devoid of all emotion save joy.

Dave had never seen his master with such an expression.

"Do I want to know?"

Balthazar chuckled. "Veronica's pregnant."

"Seriously?" asked Dave as he started to sit up then flinched and relaxed back into the mattress. He found himself grateful for the chest wound. He had been about to hug Balthazar and that would have been awkward. He looked back up at his master.

"Boy or girl?" asked Dave excitedly "Do you know? Can you find out? How far along?"

"Could be either, no, not yet and don't want to, four weeks," replied Balthazar calmly.

"Oh wow, this is—this is great." _'Balthazar and Veronica are going to have a kid.' _Dave thought happily. He wondered if he would have babysitting duty instead of shop cleaning duty for punishment in the future.

The two sat in silence for a time. Eventually, Balthazar straightened and stretched out his limbs.

"Ready to talk to your dad?"

"No, but might as well get this over with."

"I'll soundproof the room in case things get vocal."

"Good idea."

A few minutes later, Balthazar had finished his task. He waved his hand and Daniel Stutler began to stir.

"Hi, Dad," said Dave cheerily.

"Dave? You shouldn't be sitting up. Why is your robe half off?" His eyes widened. "Dave…" continued the older man as he reached out and gently traced the faint lines of a scar. "What happened?"

"Well… it's a long story. Umm, the short version is I'm a sorcerer, I can speed up time, slow it down, shoot plasma bolts, levitate things... it's all very magical."

Daniel Stutler opened and closed his mouth, then opened and closed it again. He repeated the activity several times before firmly closing his mouth, leaning back in his chair, letting out a breath as he looked up at the ceiling, then lowering his head to stare back at his son.

"And you can heal yourself with magic?"

"Not very well. Balthazar did this," replied Dave looking over his father's shoulder at the master sorcerer.

Daniel whipped his head around and saw Balthazar leaning casually against the wall arms crossed. He was smiling in greeting, as the elder Stutler eyed his clothes and un-kept hair. Daniel frowned for some reason, this man seemed familiar. "Do I know you?" His eyes widened at the realization that the fight he had witnessed had been the result of magic. He couldn't remember what the victor had looked like, and this man seemed familiar.

"You're him, aren't you? The one who blinded those men, the ones who attacked me and Dave."

Balthazar nodded. "My name is Balthazar Blake. Dave's my apprentice. I'm teaching him sorcery."

Daniel's eyes widened his mind flashing back to ten year old Dave claiming a wizard had given him a magic ring before saving him from an evil wizard and getting sucked into an urn. Daniel's eyes narrowed in realisation. "The Arcana Cabana? This is the man who got sucked into that urn? Wait, isn't 'Balthazar' the name of your English tutor?"

Dave nodded. "Yeah, he's been helping me with more than just magic. Something about me being 'well rounded'…" A moment of silence passed. "You're taking this better then I thought," added Dave.

"Say that once the shock wears off," replied Daniel. His brow furrowed in thought as he tried to remember everything about the Arcana Cabana. That incident was the key—it was where this whole mess had started. Almost everything wrong with his son's life could be traced to that place. "Where does that ridiculous ring come into things?"

"The ring is my focus. It helps me with my magic. I'm a lot weaker without it."

Daniel nodded as he awkwardly combed his hand through his hair.

"Before the shock does wear off," said Balthazar, "We need to go. Dave's healed and we don't want the doctors to see that. It will lead to questions none of us want to answer. I brought over a change of clothes. While Dave gets dressed, you can tell the doctors he's leaving and get a wheelchair. He shouldn't be able to walk yet."

"Yes, yes, I'll go do that…"

oo0oo

By the time the three men were settled into Balthazar's Phantom, Daniel Stutler was barely suppressing his rage. Dave had lied to him—well, lied by omission, but that was still lying as far as Daniel was concerned. Worse still, if the fight outside Dave's surgery was anything to go by, this sorcery thing was very dangerous. Still, the man knew how to control or at least suppress his emotions. He kept his exterior calm, but Dave, who sat in the back with him, knew his father and he knew the man's tells.

Daniel Stutler was stiff, his eyes hard and he stared straight ahead. His nose was slightly crinkled, a sure sign he was barely keeping himself in check.

'_So much for the shock,' _thought Dave. '_Maybe we should have finished talking in the hospital where he'd be worried about causing a scene, not like he knew Balthazar sound proofed the room..'_

The ride was silent and over all too soon for Dave, but for Daniel, it had given him plenty of time to run over the facts. His son had lied to him. His son had put his own life in danger as well as the lives of those close to him by pursuing a life with magic. Then there was the fact that he doubted Balthazar had brought over a change of clothes from New York, which meant the sorcerer had broken into his home. His _home._ Bad enough it had been invaded by the two psychos from earlier, but this, this pied piper as well? The ride had given Daniel plenty of time to stew and build up his anger.

The trio climbed out of the car. Once the door was locked and the three gathered in the living room, Daniel Stutler turned to his son, his anger finally reaching it's breaking point as he turned to his son ready to unleash his fury.

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><p><strong>Next update will be on Sat morning before noon. Please review<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Holidays**

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><p><strong>Summary<strong>**: Dave goes home for the holidays. Unfortunately, Prime Merlinians, it seems, do not get vacations.**

**Disclaimer****:** **All Publicly Recognizable Characters, Settings, Ideas, etc. are the Property of Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Productions. The Original Characters and Plot are the Property of the Author. The Author is in no way Associated with the Owners, Creators, or Producers of Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Productions. No Copyright Infringement is intended.**

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><p><strong>Chapter IV - Fathers<strong>

**Dec 25, 2010, 6:00 pm - Stutler Residence in Washington D.C**

"Just how long were you planning on hiding this foolishness from me, David?" hollered Daniel Stutler as he stared down at his son.

"Look, Dad, I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but it's not foolish. I'm doing real good— "

"And risking your life! For what? Is someone paying you to do this?"

Dave took a breath. "No, but if I didn't, you and a lot of other people would be dead or worse."

"What the hell are you talking about?" hissed the elder Stutler.

"Morgana Le Fay—she was imprisoned then released. She was about to perform the rising. It would have brought back hundreds, maybe thousands of her dead followers and they would have taken over the planet."

His father threw back his head and laughed. Dave stood where he was staring at his father, his jaw touching his chest as his father continued to cachinnate. Abruptly Daniel stopped and looked his son in the eyes.

"Hundreds? Thousands? So what? There's over six billion people on this planet. Are sorcerers immune to bullets? A few hundred or even a few thousand sorcerers facing an army of millions—I don't see a threat to the world, boy. There's no need to involve yourself, which, by the way, is why you are going to uninvolved yourself, right now."

"Even if Morgana and her army would eventually have been beaten, thousands would have been killed, and then there would have been a huge witch hunt."

"And if you kept your _abilities_ quiet none of that would have been your problem!"

"It would have been everyone's problem, and she was going to start in New York. How would that not have been my problem?"

"The military would have taken her out quickly—a sniper and the situation would have been solved."

"We can stop bullets, Dad, turn gun powder to salt."

"Really? So she would have sabotaged a gun from a couple miles away? Stopped a bullet she couldn't see coming? Like I said, a well positioned sniper and the problem would have been solved. You risked your life for nothing."

"The woman could bring the dead back to life! She would at the very least have killed thousands before she was stopped!"

"I don't care about the planet, you stupid child!" shouted Daniel as he advanced towards his son. "I care about you, Carol and me. The rest of the planet can rot. Now you are going to give up that ring and focus solely on your studies. I expect straight 'A's in all your classes, even the gen ed ones. As for you," Daniel snarled, turning to where Balthazar stood. The master sorcerer's face was a mask of cool indifference as he looked at the angry man before him. Daniel baled his fists in an attempt to keep his temper in check. "You will take the ring and stay the hell away from my son."

"If Dave wants me gone, all he has to do is ask," replied Balthazar coolly before turning to his apprentice. "What do you want, Dave?"

Dave looked to his master and smiled gratefully. "I'd like a ride back to New York. I just want to go home."

"Your home is wherever your family is, boy, and the only family you have is me. Leave now and you can pay for the new laptop, apartment, food and school all on your own."

"I'll manage."

The rage spread across his father's face so _quickly_ that Dave barely had enough time to raise his hand to block the blow. He didn't need to, however. Daniel Stutler's hand hung frozen in midair as he strained against the force that held it back from his son's face.

Both turned to Balthazar who hadn't moved, hadn't even raised his arm to direct the magic. He just glared at the man before him. Dave could feel the anger coming off him in waves. The apprentice had never seen his master so incensed before. Gone was the kindness that underlined all the master sorcerer's actions. The mischievous and playful glint in his eyes that had been present even during his last battle with Horvath had vanished. Balthazar's bright blue eyes were cold, hard and a muscle in his jaw twitched dangerously.

"_Never_ raise a hand against my apprentice in front of me," warned Balthazar, his tone dangerously even.

"He's _my_ son, freak."

"We're not freaks," hissed Dave, quickly recovering from his shock at Balthazar's defence of him.

"You won't be once you give up this foolishness. Get it from your mom, always had her head in the clouds—"

"Shut up!" yelled Dave, barely resisting an urge to punch the man in front of him, memories of the arguments his parents had rearing their heads: his father yelling at his mother telling her that her fantasy stories weren't going to help Dave deal with the real world; his mother trying to comfort him during the divorce proceedings, telling Dave that his father used to love her for her dreams, but as the years went by and reality kept beating him down, it had turned to bitterness and that divorce was best for everyone.

Dave stepped back when he saw his father's left hand inches from his throat. He had been too absorbed in his memories and hadn't seen the attack coming. Fortunately, it seemed, Balthazar wasn't easily distracted.

The apprentice turned to his master who still hadn't moved. Dave's shoulders slumped as all anger left him. His father had struck him before, but to try and strangle him… Dave just wanted to go. He turned from his father to the stairs. "I'm going to get my things. I'll just be a few minutes."

Balthazar nodded, never taking his eyes off his student's father.

Dave closed the door to his room and leaned against it, taking in a few shaky breaths. He held out his hands to see they too were shaking, he sighed and banged his head against the door. He hadn't realized he had been stressed enough for his body to release adrenaline. He'd be dealing with it until it was done rampaging through his system.

Sighing again, Dave decided to focus on packing. He quickly tossed the clothes he had brought into the satchel Balthazar had given him. The box from the Goblin King he placed inside with great care. He turned to his closet where the suit his father had gotten him hung. Did he want to take that? It represented a happy memory of his father, a fun afternoon when his dad had been proud of him. The memory felt somewhat tainted after today, though, considering how quickly that pride had turned to… Dave reached for his throat, wondering what it would have felt like if Balthazar hadn't stopped the attack, his own father's hands around his throat because the older man couldn't hit his face.

oo0oo

As soon as Dave disappeared, Daniel focused his glare on the master sorcerer.

"It's your fault."

"Excuse me?" asked Balthazar, eyebrow raised.

"It's your fault Dave grew up without any friends, your fault he became a pariah as a little kid, you and that damn store of yours."

Balthazar said nothing—he agreed with the man, after all. The master sorcerer had always acted nonchalant about Dave's ostracism as a child, but the fact was he had always felt somewhat responsible. He should have known better then to leave the boy alone.

"Nothing to say? Wonder if that will change when you get my son killed."

"If I hadn't found him, Morgana would have after her resurrection. She either would have killed him or turned him into a pet."

"Yes, after you put that giant bull's eye on him. I have no doubt she would have tracked him down and destroyed him if you hadn't _trained __**my son**__ to kill_."

Daniel's eyes glittered when Balthazar visibly flinched.

"Whether or not I found him when he was ten would have been irrelevant. If Morgana gained her freedom, she wouldn't have stopped until Dave was dead or broken at her feet."

"Oh, I see you've been protecting my son by dragging him into the magical world of yours. Yes, his life is far better now that he has you around to teach him how to kill others."

"Enough," said Balthazar, his tone hard, but something flickered in his eyes just for a few milliseconds, then the emotion was gone and the master sorcerer was staring coolly at his apprentice's father.

Unfortunately, Daniel had seen it. He knew guilt and remorse when he saw them, and nothing was going to stop him from driving those emotions home. "Truth hurt?" sneered Daniel. "I know my son. He would never have agreed to save the world. He's never had much self confidence. You lied to him, didn't you?"

"I only told him the truth."

"Then you told him half-truths."

"Quiet," ordered Balthazar, his voice edged and his ring glowing.

Daniel opened his mouth to retort, and no sound came out. His glare intensified and he advanced towards the master sorcerer.

Balthazar raised his hand and Daniel Stutler felt himself been lifted with it. Balthazar gestured over to the couch and Daniel flew towards it. As soon as he landed, he jumped off the couch.

Balthazar raised his hand, his ring glowing a yellowish green.

"Sit," he commanded.

The air around Daniel grew heavy, as did the man's limbs. He collapsed back onto the couch but continued to glower at the man before him.

Balthazar ignored him and turned to the stairs, waiting for Dave to finish.

"Got everything?" asked Balthazar a few moments later as Dave descended the stairs.

The apprentice turned to see his father sitting on the couch looking dishevelled and glaring daggers at the master sorcerer. Dave scoffed at the sight—as if Daniel Stutler could out-glare Balthazar Blake.

"Yeah, everything I need."

"Fine," sneered Daniel Stutler. "Go. Not like you'll have time for magic if you want to finish school, Dave. Tuition aside, you'll have to work for room and board now."

"No, he won't," said Balthazar curtly. "I'll be helping him."

"Balthazar—"

The master held up a hand. "Your _father_ is right, Dave. You cannot practice magic, work on your master's _and_ hold down a job. You'd have to give up magic since, as you've reminded me before, you need an education to get a paying job in order to provide for yourself and any family you build. I'm your master. Ensuring you can train is my responsibility."

"I'll pay you back."

Balthazar rolled his eyes. "We'll discuss it later." He turned to the door. "Let's go."

"You'd chose this pied piper over your family?" exclaimed Daniel Stutler as he jumped to his feet, his body tense. Balthazar turned to confront the man, but Dave beat him to it by casting a temporal displacement spell around his father, slowing the man down to one twentieth his normal speed.

"You've been practicing."

"I remember what you said about training if I didn't."

The two exited the house and started walking down the driveway to the car. They looked at each other when they saw a silhouette approach neither one knowing who it was due to the lighting, and both hoping there wasn't a third Pierce sibling.

As the figure approached Dave recognized them. "Hey, Carol," he greeted, quickly turning his frown into a smile.

"Dave!" Carol smiled back cheerfully. "Who's your friend?"

"My uncle, from my mother's side," lied Dave, the falsehood falling naturally from his mouth. "He's taking me home, to New York."

Balthazar stared at his student, when had the boy learned to lie?

"I thought you were staying a few more days. We were supposed to have dinner together."

"Yeah, Dad and me had a fight—a pretty big one. He's inside fuming. Afraid he didn't have a chance to cook dinner. You two will have to eat out."

"Dave," said Carol quietly, "you don't have to go. I'll talk to your father. I'm sure we can sort this out."

Dave shook his head. "I appreciate it, Carol, really, but… you can't fix this. Dad and I will just have to work it out. I have to go now. I'll see you around."

Without giving the woman a chance to respond, Dave walked past her towards the Phantom.

"Balthazar?" asked Dave, breaking the twenty-minute-long silence that had lasted since the beginning of the drive.

"Yes?"

"Am I going to have to move in with you and Veronica to save money on rent?"

"No, I don't think that would be a good idea. It would certainly make training you easier, and we like having you around, but you really do need your own space, and even I don't think you spend enough time with people your own age. If you moved out, you'd rarely see Bennet and I don't think cutting down on time with one of your surprisingly few friends—" Dave snorted Balthazar turned to look at Dave, who frowned at the expression on his master's face. Was that guilt?

Balthazar turned back to the rode before finishing "…is a good idea. Especially now."

"I'll pay you back the money, eventually, and if I get that scholarship, that will take care of tuition and even the rent, but I'll need help with almost everything this term."

Balthazar sighed, "Don't worry about it. I know I'm not your dad or even your uncle, but as your master I am just as responsible for you. Which reminds me, when did you learn to lie?" asked the master sorcerer careful to keep his voice neutral.

"Lie?"

"When you told Carol I was your uncle."

"Wasn't entirely a lie, you act like one." '_Sometimes more then that,_' added Dave mentally, "And from what I understand, Merlin treated you guys like his own."

"So?"

"So, you said I was related to Merlin somehow, I like to think through my mom's side of the family."

Balthazar smiled broadly, happier then he cared to admit that Dave hadn't learned to lie, it was just the boy's perceptions that had changed. "Guess that means an end to this ridiculous pay-me-back conversation."

"You sure?" asked Dave.

"Yes, Dave. I'm sure." They continued on in silence before Balthazar decided to break it once more.

"Your father," said Balthazar, his voice calm. "Has he hit you before?"

Dave turned to look at his master. He was having trouble seeing much in the dim light, but the master sorcerer's Adam's apple seemed to be shaking and Dave could make out the muscle in his jaw twitching. Otherwise, Balthazar's face was impassive, save for a glint in the man's eye. The apprentice had learned quickly to do whatever was asked of him when Balthazar had that look.

Dave nodded slowly. "Yeah, whenever my grades slipped below an eighty percent, which was only three times. And one time when i was seventeen and snuck out to a party. Wasn't even fun. The guy just invited me to get some help with school, then griped about me when he thought I couldn't hear. Anyway, when I got home, Dad was waiting."

Balthazar's expression softened slightly and his eyes darted over to his apprentice briefly before focusing once more on the road. "I'm sorry," he said gently.

Dave shrugged. "Not your fault. Thanks for the save, by the way."

Balthazar flinched slightly when Dave said it wasn't his fault. He was fairly certain that it _was_ his fault the other boy had complained about having to put up with Dave. He shook off the thoughts and focused on Dave's later words. "You could have handled it."

"The first one, yeah, but I didn't see the second one coming."

"We'll step up your combat training."

Dave sighed and slumped further in his seat. He had walked into that. It was odd now that he thought about it. Balthazar had given him far more bruises in the past month than his father ever had. After all, his father had hit him a total of four times, six if one included the attempts made tonight. But with Balthazar it was different. With the master sorcerer, it was training, sparring. Complaining about being hit was like complaining about been tackled in football. The context was just so different one couldn't compare the two.

"You want to stay with me and Veronica for what's left of the holidays?"

Dave shook his head "I'll be fine."

Balthazar considered insisting but decided against it. He would see plenty of Dave during training, and he was sure he could convince the youth to come over for the occasional dinner. "Sure you want to be alone?"

Dave nodded. "I'll be okay, thanks."

"Your dad mentioned a new laptop."

"The one I have will hold up fine," assured Dave, his eyes drifting from the window to his master.

"We'll go shopping in a couple days for a new one."

"Balthazar, it's fine, really. Dad wasn't planning on getting me a new one until after I got my bachelor's."

"Alright, we'll get you one after you get your diploma. But seriously, Dave, if you need a new one, tell me."

"I will."

"You going to go to summer school?" asked Balthazar.

"Yeah, I usually take a couple classes during summer."

Balthazar nodded. The kid had a full plate as it was and Balthazar knew graduate school was a nightmare from back when he had been a professor himself—he had made sure of it. If Dave went to summer school, he would be able to keep a lighter course load, which would clear up time for training. He made a mental note to take him to get a new laptop before the start of summer courses.

"We'll be back home in half an hour."

"What? It's a six hour drive. We haven't been driving for an hour yet."

"I set up a portal about a month ago when I found out you'd be in Washington for two weeks, just in case."

"I was wondering how you got here so quickly."

"I don't feel like driving any more then I have to. You okay with staying at my place for the night?"

Dave turned to look sceptically at his master, who chanced a glance at his apprentice. Balthazar almost smiled at the expression on his student's face.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," chuckled Balthazar.

Dave rolled his eyes before turning to look out the window.

"We're nearing the portal, hold on."

Dave looked up to see they were driving towards a rock wall. He gripped his seat but kept his features schooled. They reached the wall, and the next thing Dave knew, they were just outside New York city.

It felt good to be back, away from Washington.

"You holding up okay?" asked Balthazar after a few minutes of silence.

"My dad hates me."

"No, he doesn't. You heard him. He wanted you to quit mainly because you're putting your life in danger."

"You're defending him?" asked Dave, shocked.

"No," replied Balthazar darkly, a trace of anger rising in his voice. He paused before continuing, and once he did, his voice was deadpan. "I'm stating facts. Your father is an asshole who tried to hit you because you put your life on the line to help people, but he also did it because he doesn't want you killed. He's an idiot, but he doesn't hate you."

"Would you forgive him?"

"I've told you before, what I do isn't the point. You forgave him when he hit you before. Why?"

"I didn't, haven't. I just… moved on. Put the issue aside, like I did everything else he did. I wasn't mad at him just for the incident with mom, though that was the biggest. There were the times he hit me and a few other things over the years."

"Like what?"

Dave remained silent and continued to gaze out the window.

"Dave…"

"I don't want to talk about it, Balthazar." snapped Dave, then realising his tone took a calming breath before continuing. "It wasn't anything really bad, just him been controlling."

Balthazar sighed, and the remainder of the ride continued in silence.

Ten minutes later, Balthazar pulled up to the apartment. "Need help with your stuff?" asked the master sorcerer once he finished parking.

"No, I got it, thanks," replied Dave as he stepped out of the car. He opened the back door and grabbed his bag before turning to the stairs and starting up. Balthazar walked quietly behind his apprentice, unsure of what his next move should be. Perhaps it would be best to leave the kid alone.

Dave reached into his pocket and pulled out the key for the apartment. Taking a moment to realize he had a key for this place but not his dad's, he unlocked the door and made his way to his room.

oo0oo

"Dave, come on, time to get up," said Balthazar from the other side of Dave's door.

Dave turned to look at his alarm clock. "It's 7:55!"

"I let you sleep in. Training in the basement in five."

Dave covered his head with the pillow for all of five seconds before tossing it onto the floor and getting up. He knew he would receive an extra ten minutes of training for every one he was late for.

"There you are," greeted Balthazar cheerfully as Dave descended the steps to the basement.

Dave grunted, and Balthazar's grin widened.

"Basic combat training for now," said Balthazar holding a bo staff. "Come here."

Dave positioned himself a few feet in front of his master.

"Okay, your job is to avoid getting hit by side stepping and ducking. No blocking."

Dave nodded, and Balthazar thrust the staff forward.

Dave managed to avoid most of the strikes but got hit by a few of the faster ones. Balthazar flipped the staff. The new end had a thin layer of padding taped on it.

"Okay, now block, grab, whatever works."

Five minutes later, Balthazar again reversed the staff. "This time, we'll be moving. You'll have to be light on your feet."

"This won't end well."

It ended better then Dave thought. He only tripped two times. The pair went two rounds using each end with a two minute breather between each. At the end of the fourth, Balthazar announced that it was time to practice magic. The next twenty minutes were spent mastering a blindness spell.

"Okay, go wash up. Breakfast in twenty," announced Balthazar as he waved a hand in front of his face, casting off the blindness Dave had hit him with.

Dave nodded and walked up the stairs, trying to ignore the bruises on his legs and bottom where he had landed.

The first thing Dave noticed when he exited the shower was a pleasant smell. He quickly went to the kitchen where he saw Veronica seated at the table reading the paper, a plate with a pancake off to the side. There was another plate to her left. Balthazar was at the stove, his back to his apprentice as he readied another pancake.

"Good morning, Dave. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, thanks. Did Balthazar tell you what happened?"

Veronica nodded sadly. "I'm sorry Dave. If there's anything we can do…"

"Balthazar tell you about the offer?"

"Offer?"

"To help pay for my school."

"Dave, that was not an offer, it was a statement of fact. You have little choice in the matter. You will simply not have time to work in addition to everything else."

"I'll pay you guys back."

Balthazar snorted and Veronica shrugged. "And we will donate the money to some worthy cause."

Dave shook his head, and Veronica continued.

"Balthazar is right, Dave. As your master, he is responsible for you."

"I don't want to be a burden."

"You're not," the couple said at once. Veronica noticed her husband's shoulders sag slightly and the exasperated edge in the man's tone. When Balthazar turned from the stove however he was smiling pleasantly at her as he placed another pancake on a plate and walked to the table, taking a seat across from her. He motioned for Dave to take the seat on his wife's left. The apprentice did as ordered. He was getting hungry.

"You needn't worry about finances, Dave," said Veronica. "We have more than enough to support you through school."

Dave sighed morosely at his plate. Unable to stand the silence, he took a bite to distract himself.

"This is good."

"Why do you sound surprised?" drawled Balthazar, a smile tugging his lips. "It's baked apple pancake. Glad you like it."

Dave smiled sheepishly. He hadn't meant to sound surprised, he had just never had this type of pancake before and hadn't known what to expect. Balthazar was a good cook, a side effect of living on his own for close to thirteen hundred years. He was usually the one to make breakfast as he was more of a morning person than his wife. "So, what's the schedule for today?" asked Dave. "More training?"

"You can have the rest of the morning off to work on your Tesla coil project. I'll drop by this afternoon for more training."

Dave nodded and dug into his food eager to get back to his lab and his tesla coils.

* * *

><p><strong>Merry Christmas all, how about giving me a present and reviewing? Seriously, I worked ages on this and it's disheartening when only a couple people review. Next update will be next Sat sometime before noon. And it will also be the last chapter for the fic.<br>**


	5. Chapter 5

**Holidays**

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><p><strong>Summary<strong>**: Dave goes home for the holidays. Unfortunately, Prime Merlinians, it seems, do not get vacations.**

**Disclaimer****:** **All Publicly Recognizable Characters, Settings, Ideas, etc. are the Property of Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Productions. The Original Characters and Plot are the Property of the Author. The Author is in no way Associated with the Owners, Creators, or Producers of Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Productions. No Copyright Infringement is intended.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter V - Abandoned<strong>

"Dave?"

"I'm here!" shouted Dave with a wave from behind his Tesla coil, drawing his master's attention.

"How do you think you're doing with levitation?" asked Balthazar as he descended the stairs.

"You kidding? Do you not remember the exercises you made me do for hours after the trashcan incident? And why do you have mice?" asked Dave, noticing the clear plastic container which carried two white mice inside.

"I've only ever made you levitate objects. Do you remember why?"

"Because levitating living things is dangerous. You have to levitate all the organs perfectly or you'll strangle, hurt or kill the thing. That's why when you want to levitate someone, you usually levitate their clothes. Well, I do," replied Dave, realizing why Balthazar had brought mice.

"Exactly. So, how confident are you?"

"Not as confident as I was five seconds ago."

Balthazar smiled. "That's exactly what I said when Merlin taught me." He walked over to the desk, gently laid down the mice and pulled out a small white bag of flour, then poured the flour onto the desk and drew a smiley face with his finger. "Levitate that without damaging the image. Once you can do that, we'll move on to more complicated designs until I think you're ready for the mice."

Dave nodded and started levitating.

"This can take a while to master, Dave," said Balthazar two hours later as the smile in the flour grew crooked yet again. At least the eyes remained intact this time.

Dave sighed and let the flour fall. "Yeah, I'm getting that," he said redrawing the symbol before attempting the feat once more. A sheen of sweat coated the apprentice's face, his breath coming in gasps.

Balthazar smiled. "Take five and try again." He tossed his student a water bottle, and an hour later, Dave had managed to levitate the flour without disturbing the smiley face a few times. Balthazar decided to call it quits for the day and invited the apprentice over for dinner again, but Dave refused, claiming he wanted to work on his project some more.

A couple of hours later, Dave let out a yawn and, taking his new mice, started home. He quickly dropped off the mice, who he named Thing One and Thing Two, Dr Seuss was one of his favourite authors, and fed them using the food Balthazar had bought before darting out the door again to buy some food for himself. He had been too caught up in work and hadn't eaten since breakfast.

Dave was in a pretty good mood despite his new situation. He bought some pasta, a can of tomato sauce, some veggies and chicken to mix up with the sauce.

"Twenty-two dollars and sixty-seven cents," said the cashier. Dave checked his wallet to find he only had a twenty. Making a mental note to go to a machine to get more cash, he took out his debit card.

"Insufficient funds," said the cashier a few moments later.

Dave frowned and pulled out his credit card, which also didn't work. It had been cancelled. "Ummm, I'll go put this stuff back," said Dave, his face turning beet red.

Dave checked with an ATM machine on the way back to his apartment. He couldn't believe it. He knew he had at least three hundred. The only way it could be gone was if…

Dave withdrew his card, ran back to his apartment, pulled out his laptop and checked his accounts online. There had been a large withdrawal. His father had set up a joint account so that he could easily transfer funds to his son, but it also meant that the man could take those funds away and cancel the credit card.

Dave felt numb. He hadn't expected this. He hadn't expected his father to take back the money he had already given his son. Dave reached over to his dresser and checked his cell—no messages. He checked his email and found one from his father.

'_If your master is so eager to support you, I see no reason he can't start right away. _

oo0oo

Balthazar stood on the overhead walkway frowning at his apprentice while the boy practiced maintaining a shield while his master made plasma shoot out from the youth's tesla coils. Dave had become withdrawn the past few days, refusing all invitations to join Balthazar and Veronica for dinner and rarely stringing more then a few words together. Balthazar was considering upping the intensity of the plasma shooting attacking the apprentice, in hopes the boy would ask for a break during which the master sorcerer could interrogate him, when the apprentice collapsed. "Dave!" shouted Balthazar's panic-stricken voice as he darted towards his apprentice's unconscious form. "Dave!" the elder man knelt and placed his ear above his student's mouth. Relief flooded him when he felt warm air. In addition to been withdrawn Dave had also been looking sickly the past couple of days. Balthazar thought it was due to the stress of the fight with his father, but now he wasn't so sure.

"Errr," moaned Dave as he started sitting up. Balthazar gently placed a hand on his back and helped him.

"What's wrong?" asked Balthazar placing his hand on his students forehead. He frowned when he didn't detect an elevated temperature. If Dave wasn't sick what was wrong?

Dave blinked. "Ummm, what just happened?"

"You fainted."

"Oh…"

"When was the last time you ate?"

"Ummm…"

"Dave," warned Balthazar.

"I had a snickers yesterday."

"Before that?"

"Bag of Doritos."

"Dave, when was the last time you had real food?"

"When I had breakfast at your place."

"Dave," said Balthazar through gritted teeth. "That was five days ago."

"Yeah."

Dave had managed to avoid joining Balthazar and Veronica for dinner or any other meal despite invitations, and had lived off the cheapest food he could find using his last twenty. He knew that if he sat down with them, the conversation would turn towards his finances and then to the fact that his father had taken back the money he had given his son.

It was a conversation he didn't want to have.

In retrospect, it was a dumb move.

"Dave, why haven't you eaten?" asked Balthazar with forced calm.

"Dad took back the three hundred dollars that was in my account."

Dave felt the hand on his back stiffen, and Balthazar took three deep breaths. When he spoke, the calm tone to his voice outright scared Dave.

"You are an idiot. You should have told me. Come on." Balthazar helped Dave to his feet and towards the couch. Once Dave was seated comfortably, Balthazar spoke again. "I'm going to get some food. We'll discuss this when I get back. Do not move from this couch."

Balthazar returned twenty minutes later with Chinese. He handed Dave the chopsticks and chicken chow mein.

"From now on, you'll come to me when you need money, especially when it's for things like food. Now, did your father already pay for tuition? He hasn't taken that back?"

"Yeah, he took care of that already. Tuition-wise I'm okay, just rent and food."

"And spending money."

"Bal—"

The master held up his hand. "You need spending money, Dave. We'll go with a hundred and twenty five dollars a month. You'll be able to eat out on occasion and take Becky out on a few dates."

Dave looked down at the food. "Thank you," he whispered.

"No problem."

Balthazar sighed when he saw Dave shrink in on himself a little as the youth pulled in his legs and brought the box of takeout closer to his chest.

"I can get student loans."

"Bit late for this term, Dave. Besides, debt can be a distracting thing. I'd rather not have you working yourself too hard trying to pay it off. I have enough trouble getting you to focus."

"I'll still look into them."

Balthazar's shoulders sagged and his face softened as he looked at his apprentice directly in the eyes. "Will it really kill you to let me help you?"

Dave turned away from the man, choosing to focus on a stone on the floor. "You've got your own family to worry about. You and Veronica want kids, right?"

"I have plenty of money, Dave. Fifteen hundred years traveling the world and using only what I needed to get by. I can cover your expenses no problem."

"I'd still rather stand on my own two feet."

Balthazar sighed. "Fine, look into them, but Veronica and I will cover you for this term. It will take time to sort out the loans."

"Thanks."

Balthazar stood from the couch. "I'm going to get some groceries," he announced suddenly before turning to stare down at the apprentice, who shrank slightly at the man's glower. "Do. Not. Move. From. This. Couch. You do, and you will not want to move for a month. Am I clear?"

Dave nodded.

oo0oo

Balthazar walked quickly back to the lab, his arms full of groceries. He had cast a small spell to prevent the frozen diners from melting, they weren't the best but they were quick and easy, Balthazar could heat then up quickly with magic, and the master was all too happy to forcefully shove the food down the imbecilic youth's throat, literally if needed. Balthazar shook his head. How could Dave not tell him? Had he not made it clear to the youth that he was willing to help? Still, Dave had effectively been abandoned by his father. He supposed he couldn't blame the physics nerd for not wanting to talk about it. Balthazar could not remember the last time he had been so tempted to hunt someone down to beat them to a pulp. Well okay, there were the pedophiles and rapists he had dealt with, but he always resisted the temptation to beat them to within an inch of their lives and settled for castration, and put them in a wheelchair, just to make sure they would have difficulty becoming a real physical threat ever again.

Still, that wouldn't do for this situation.

Of all the bitter and vindictive acts! Cutting Dave off was one thing, but taking back the few hundred he had already given his son to help with food and other expenses was just… petty and cruel.

Balthazar hoped the boy hadn't disobeyed his order not to move from the couch. If Dave had, Balthazar would make certain the boy would soon regret it. The master sorcerer smiled at the thought of some of the punishments he would inflict on his student if the youth dared disregard the order.

Thus Balthazar was understandably upset when he returned and saw that Dave was not, in fact, on the couch.

"Hey, Balthazar," greeted Dave with a sheepish smile when he saw his master.

Balthazar turned. "What did I say about leaving the couch?"

Dave took a step back and raised his arm in defence. "I just went to the washroom, nothing strenuous." His master continued to glare, and Dave added, "I really had to go."

Balthazar relaxed slightly, continuing to stare at the boy for a few moments, debating whether of not to punish him. Finally, he just sighed and said, "I'm going to put these away. Hope you like chicken fettuccini alfredo."

Dave nodded, knowing that any argument would be dangerous. He sighed and collapsed onto the couch. He was so _tired_. Stress and hunger pains had led to little sleep coupled with magic training and school. It was no wonder he had fainted, especially when one considered how skinny he was to begin with.

He looked up when a plate of food was held out in front of him. Smiling, he gingerly took the offering.

"Needless to say, you're spending New Year's Eve with Veronica and me."

Dave looked up at his master. New Year's Eve was tomorrow. "I am?"

"You'll be joining us for dinner. We'll train in the afternoon, and you can have the morning for school work."

Dave knew better then to argue. He stared at his food for a few moments before taking a bite.

Balthazar frowned at his apprentice. Normally, Dave made a bit more of a fuss at being ordered around so much. It seemed the thing with his father, lack of sleep and food had really taken their toll on the youth. He hoped it wouldn't last.

"I think I'll get a fridge for this place," said Balthazar casually. Dave continued to eat, saying nothing.

"You'll be coming over for dinner tonight."

"Umm, Balthazar?"

"Yes, Dave?"

"I don't want to be rude, but… I kinda want to be alone."

Balthazar cocked his head, pondering the wisdom of leaving his apprentice. "Want a ride home first?"

Dave shook his head.

"Then you're planning on spending the night here?"

Dave shook his head.

Balthazar crossed his arms as he stared down at his student. "Then how are you planning to get back to your apartment?"

"Walk to the subway."

"Dave, you are not walking home or using public transportation. If you want to be alone, I can take you home and leave."

"I still have some work I want to do." He sensed his master's glare and quickly added, "Once I'm done eating and resting."

"Fine, have it your way. I'll leave you alone," said Balthazar curtly as he walked quickly to the desk. Dave looked up at the tone, afraid he had upset his master. Balthazar threw on his coat, which had been draped on the chair next to the desk, and reached into his pocket, pulling out his wallet. He took out a handful of bills and placed them on the desk.

"This is cab money. When you're ready to go, you will use this to get a cab home. If I find out you walked, and I _will_ find out, then I will train you so hard that you won't be walking anywhere for a month. And I _will_ know if you try to shove the money back in my wallet or coat pocket, so don't bother. Are we understood?"

Dave nodded.

Balthazar smiled, trying to alleviate the boy's concern that his master was angry at him. "I'll bring the groceries over to your place for you, but I'll leave a few instant meals. Call if you need anything."

"Sure thing."

"I mean it, Dave."

"I know."

"I don't think you do," said Balthazar, an edge to his voice as he stared down at the boy. "What do you think will happen if next time you collapse, we're in the middle of a fight?"

Dave stiffened. Balthazar counted on him to watch his back during fights. If Dave suddenly collapsed… "I'll call."

oo0oo

Dave leaned back in his chair and smiled as he let out a quiet sigh. He had been looking into student loans for the past three hours online, ever since he got back from the lab, and he found out enough to know he would be okay. He qualified for loans and didn't foresee a problem getting them. Dave knew they could avoid them entirely if he applied for a TAship, but that would take too many hours out of his week and leave no time for sorcery. He needed to keep up his training and he really didn't like the idea of Balthazar getting hurt because his shields weren't up to scratch. If he just used the loan money to pay for rent, he could use his leftover scholarship money for food and expenses.

According to his calculations, he could finish up his master's in eighteen months. His PhD would take another three years, so his student debt wouldn't be too bad so long as he could get a good scholarship for his PhD.

Debt was annoying, but it would be better then accepting help from Balthazar.

He would pay Balthazar and Veronica back. He would donate to the children's hospital in their name if they were so insistent on refusing.

Balthazar wasn't his father. He didn't need one.

oo0oo

Dave grunted as he barely blocked the blow from the padded staff. He had gotten a lot of rest last night and despite sleeping in a fair amount of work done since Balthazar hadn't dropped by until fairly late in the afternoon. After making sure Dave had recovered well enough from his collapse the previous day Balthazar had decided to start with a little combat training, "Just fifteen minutes." The master had assured "to get the blood pumping." Balthazar hadn't mentioned that another reason he wanted to do physical training was because it was the easiest way to gauge how Dave was doing. They'd only been at it for ten minutes, and Dave could tell his master was going easy on him. Balthazar's movements were a lot slower then usual. Still Dave was hardly a warrior and soon failed to properly block.

"Ah!" shouted Dave as he fell unceremoniously on his ass.

Balthazar dropped the bo staff as Dave bent forward and clutched his arm. He had missed the padding when he tried to block the attack.

Balthazar darted forward and gently took the injured limb in hand. Dave flinched slightly. Gently, Balthazar applied light pressure to the injured area, watching Dave's reaction. "Not broken, but it may be fractured. An x-ray may be in order."

"Wait, you want to go to the hospital?"

"Yes."

"Can't you just heal it? I saw a spell for broken bones in my Encantus."

"Didn't read it, though, did you? Yes, I can heal it if it's as slightly damaged as I think. It would only take seconds to heal, but they would be very, very painful seconds, Dave. Bones take time to heal. If magic is used to speed that up, then… all that healing taking place at once hurts. It's generally only used on the battlefield or as torture."

"I really hate hospitals."

"And I really hate the idea of torturing my apprentice."

"Taking me to the hospital when it's bound to be full of doctors who really don't want to be there on New Year's Eve and making me wait in a waiting room for hours having to fill out forms and stuff could be considered torture."

"Dave."

"There's gotta be something you can do."

Balthazar sighed. "I can cast the spell if it's weak enough and if it is just a hairline fracture like I think. I could heal it in a few hours relatively painlessly. It would sting a bit and itch, but not much."

"And it would take hours to get it treated in the hospital, so we'll go with that plan."

"Fine, take a seat," said Balthazar gesturing to the chair. Dave sat down, still cradling his injured arm, and Balthazar turned and looked around the room. He spotted a strip of metal and levitated it over, duplicated it, then placed the two strips on the table. He levitated over some wire and used the materials to form a splint. Balthazar then left and returned a few moments later with the first aid kit. He removed a triangle bandage and used it to make Dave a sling. Once the arm was immobilized, he held out his hands and a white light emitted from them. Dave grimaced slightly at the stinging feeling in his arm. When Balthazar was done, the apprentice frowned at the slight itch, but as promised it wasn't that bad.

Balthazar smiled and picked up the bag of flour that had been resting on the desk, poured some out and used his finger to form the image of a tree.

"Might as well practice levitation since we're done with combat for the day."

Dave sighed, but using his left hand started levitating the flour.

"You know, Dave," said Balthazar. "You've got a few days left of vacation. I could set up a portal so you can visit friends."

"I'm not ready to meet Becky's family. And Bennet's is big, and very noisy. I don't think they'd have room for me."

"Couldn't hurt to ask. Anyone else?"

"No, there's no one."

"No friend from high school?" prodded the elder man.

"There's no one, Balthazar," replied Dave curtly. The flour fell in a heap, the image destroyed.

"Sorry," said Balthazar so quietly Dave almost didn't hear.

"Not your fault. I shouldn't have shouted."

Balthazar hesitated. Still, this was as good an opportunity as any. "You sure it's not my fault?"

Startled, Dave looked up at his master.

"You were ostracized because of the Arcana Cabana incident."

"What?"

"You said as much after I rescued you from Horvath."

Dave frowned, why was Balthazar bringing this up? "It's not your fault."

The master sorcerer raised an eyebrow. "As I recall, one of the first things you said was, 'you are not doing this to me again.' "

Dave opened his mouth to speak, but Balthazar cut him off. "I know I played a large part in the ridicule you put up with as a kid and I'm sorry."

"Wait, are you paying for my stuff out of guilt?" asked Dave.

Surprise broke out on the master sorcerer's face, not only at the thought, but the accusatory tone of voice. "No, I'm doing it because I'm your master. I care about you and I want to help."

Dave looked at the floor. He hadn't expected Balthazar to flat out say hecared. He shook his head before leaning back in his chair and looking up once more at his master. "…Like you told me before, we don't know what could have happened. If you had been around to train me, I might have tried to go up against Morgana sooner, before I was ready. I mean, I had to drain the power from half of Manhattan, Balthazar. I wouldn't have been able to do what I did until my last year of high school. If I had tried to beat Morgana before that, I might have lost. Besides, you're the one who told me not to touch anything. I disobeyed, and it's not your fault that jar fell on me.

"What happened, happened. At least I wasn't stuck in an urn for ten years bored out of my skull with only Horvath for company. Morgana's dead, Veronica's free, you two are happily married and I have Becky.

"I think it's safe to say things worked out pretty well, in the end." He turned back to the flour, using his left index finger to carve another tree image.

"Besides, I really like magic, now that I know it's not always going to result in humiliation."

Balthazar smiled and grabbed a book that was resting on the desk. "Keep practicing, then." He walked towards the couch to read.

oo0oo

Dave clenched and unclenched his hand. The bone had healed but the muscles were sore, the flesh tender, and _man_ was his arm black. He was looking forward to a relaxing night of dinner, drinking the Champagne Balthazar and he had picked up on the way home, and shouting 'Happy New Year!' at the top of his lungs.

The pair made their way into the kitchen to see Veronica placing steamed carrots in a serving bowl.

"Dinner will be ready shortly. Dave, would you mind setting the table?"

"Sure thing." The apprentice was about half way done with the table when Veronica spoke again.

"Dave?"

"Yes?"

"Next time, tell us when something is wrong. Balthazar was upset with himself for not preventing your collapse yesterday. And he was very worried about whether or not it had been a good idea to leave you alone, he blamed himself for it."

Dave stiffened at the news but shook it off. "I'm sorry I worried you guys, I just… really didn't want to talk about it."

"I understand," he felt her hand on his shoulder. "And I want you to understand that we care about you and want to help you as much as we can."

Dave stiffened and said nothing, mulling over the words in his head. Eventually, Veronica withdrew and started setting the food on the table.

"Where's Balthazar?" asked the apprentice.

"In his study, preparing a painkiller potion to help with your arm. Will you tell him dinner is ready?"

"Right, sure thing," said Dave darting out of the kitchen.

Balthazar's study had two desks, one for potions and chemistry work and one for everything else. Naturally, when the youth arrived Balthazar was at his potions desk. Dave had just reached the doorway when Balthazar raised his hand, palm up and curled his fingers, gesturing the youth over. He hadn't even looked up. He was bent over his desk grinding a green powder. Next to him was a white mug with a clear brown liquid.

"Veronica says dinner's ready."

"Almost done," said Balthazar as he lifted the bowl and dumped its contents into the mug. He reached over and took a glass stirring stick from one of the beakers on the desk. After stirring the contents, he handed the mug over to Dave. "Pain killer potion. I'll show you how to make it tomorrow. Let's eat."

Dinner was fun. Dave and Balthazar both explained how the ball worked and that there was a huge party in the square. Once everyone was done with their plates, Dave and Balthazar cleaned up before joining Veronica in front of the television.

The three sat around the fire as they watched the television they talked amiably while they watched as midnight came to different parts of the world and saw each area celebrate the fresh start.

Dave could see why Balthazar had insisted on finding a home where he could have a real wooden fire. The apprentice had asked the man why a fireplace was so important after Balthazar had said 'no' to the fifth nice prospect. Balthazar had simply replied that he hated gas fires and changed the topic. Dave had later asked Veronica who told him that some of her happiest memories consisted of her, Merlin, Horvath and Balthazar sitting by a roaring fire in the Keep. The ancient sorcerer had told them stories in their younger days and when they had grown older they used to enjoy sitting around a camp fire swapping war stories with the knights before battle in those dark cold nights before battle a roaring fire had been a source of comfort, and Dave could see why there really was something wonderful about the warmth and crackling of a wooden fire that he found lacking in the modern gas ones. For one thing wooden fire was much hotter.

Eventually it became their turn to celebrate the new year. Ten… Nine…Eight…" the three chanted in unison. Seven… Six… Five… Four… Three… Two… One… Happy New Year!"

Balthazar and Veronica kissed and Dave focused on the T.V, a huge grin on his face. He had a good feeling about the year ahead of him.

And he was right—the year was full of wonderful things and events. Unfortunately, it was also full of horrors, but that's for another story.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's it. I'd like to thank my betas T'kirr and Siriusfan13 take a bow ladies! You are awesome!<strong>

**I hope you all enjoyed this fic and review please!**

**Seriously I spent a lot of time on this thing reviews help me write more fics. Good news I have the first 12 chaps of the next fic done bad news they haven't been betaed and will not be posted until they have been. Seriously you guys do not want to be subjected to my horrible grammar.  
><strong>


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